African Rhino Survivors Attacked by Poachers are Helped by Vets

Each year, hundreds of rhinos are shot and killed in Africa, hunted for their valuable horns. These rhino horns are then sold on the Asian medicine market, ground up and marketed as miracle "cures" for everything from cancer to stomach ache. While the horns don't actually have any healing properties, the rhinos are still suffering for it--especially those that actually survive an encounter with a poacher.

When a poacher attacks a rhino, they employ one of two approaches. The poacher will either shoot the rhino with the intention of killing it, or use an immobilizing dart gun. The aim-to-kill approach can just wound or stun the animal--often sufficiently enough to hack off the creature's horn while it's still alive on the ground. Unable to move from its side, the rhino's muscles can slowly begin to die since the sheer mass of the animal prevents blood flow. In the dart gun method, the poacher often doesn't give an antidote to the rhino.

"The septic bullet tracks, septic horn-removal lesions and dying muscles all contribute to sepsis and this can lead to secondary damage to vital organs, like the kidney, lung and liver," said Fred Reyers from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln in a news release. "The actual lesions are almost impossible to assess accurate from the outside. So, to get an idea of how serious and/or advanced these injuries are and the resulting problems, we rely on measuring a number of blood parameters that reveal the extent and stage of inflammation and organ failure."

Because of the horrific nature of rhino hunting, veterinarians are pitching in to help these creatures. Reyers is actually interpreting laboratory blood analysis data, sent to him electronically, in order to guide the vets who are treating the badly injured survivors. He works closely with South Africa's top rhino vet, William Fowlds, in order to make a difference.

They may be fighting a losing battle, though. Actually halting the tide of rhino deaths will involve changing policies so that rhino horn will not be as commercially valuable.

"This year alone South Africa has lost more than 2.5 rhino per day," said Fowlds in a news release. "Trained rangers put their lives at risk for very little salary."

Even so, these vets are doing what they can. They're doing their best to ensure that the rhinos that do survive encounters will poachers remain alive.

Fowlds will be giving a talk at the Royal Geographical Society in London about this issue on September 18.