Specialist vets perform cataract surgery on 1.5-ton rhino

By Ben Turner via SWNS

Veterinary specialist Claudia Hartley and a team of experts carried out the delicate cataract operation on 19-year-old Hugo after keepers noticed his lenses were cloudy.

The massive, greater-one-horned rhino had also started bumping into logs and other structures in his paddock at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo near Dunstable, Bedfordshire.

Given an anesthetic by dart for the op, Hugo initially laid himself down in the corner of his den on his right side - the side that vets needed access to.

This meant a team of keepers and vets had to roll and move the colossal creature, who weighs over one and a-half tons, into position for the procedure.

“After we administered the anesthetic to Hugo, he fell asleep on his right-hand-side, which was the side we needed to treat, so we had to get every single keeper there to help pull him out of the corner and roll him onto his left-hand-side," said Senior Veterinary Officer Dr. Fieke Molenaar.

"After that, we had to carefully lift and position his head, which is, in itself, incredibly heavy, so that it was in the right place and angle for the microscope.”

Keepers and vets had to be especially careful not to touch their own faces after touching Hugo, as the amount of powerful anesthetic required to tranquilize a rhino of his size, which could have remained on his skin or in his bodily fluids, was strong enough to kill 14 people.

“Hugo’s eye had to remain completely still for the microscopic incision, so several sutures, or stitches, were put into the eye tissue, to anchor it," said Molenaar.

"We had to ensure that Hugo remained asleep enough throughout the procedure that he didn’t blink and break the sutures, but not so anesthetized that his heartbeat or breathing slowed down too much.”

Two keepers took it in turns throughout the operation to hold Hugo’s ear upright, so that the anesthetic could be continuously administered through an IV into a blood vessel in his ear.

After the cloudy lens had been successfully removed from his eye, keepers massaged and used ropes to shake Hugo’s enormous legs, in order to improve his circulation, so that he could stand up as soon as he came round from the anesthesia.

“Since the operation, Hugo has recovered brilliantly, and with the lens removed, is able to see again," said Molenaar.

"It’s wonderful to be part of such a life-changing operation, and even better to see Hugo back out and about, not bumping into things anymore! We’re elated about it, and I’m sure Hugo is too.”

Best known for its own colossal beasts that graze enormous enclosures, like the Zoo’s two herds of prehistoric-looking rhinoceroses, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is home to over 9,500 amazing animals, including Amur tigers, spritely squirrel monkeys and adorable otters.