Rhino With Broken Toe At San Diego Zoo Safari Park Gets New Cast

SAN DIEGO — A team of nearly 40 veterinarians and animal care specialists recently placed a new cast on a southern white rhino at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

The 4,500-pound rhino, named Maoto, has a broken toe. The park's animal care specialists noticed the rhino was injured during a routine check-up last month. Veterinarians confirmed the injury with an X-ray examination and fitted a cast on the rhino's foot.

"During the past six weeks, Maoto has been able to move around easily and still maintain a positive demeanor through the entire process," lead keeper Jonnie Capiro said. "He's been an outstanding patient along the way!"

Another cast was placed on the rhino's foot last week, zoo officials announced Monday. The cast was fortified with rubber tread from car tires so that it does not break under his weight.

"The key to life is to surround yourself with good people, and good things will happen — and that's what happened here today," senior veterinarian Dr. Jeff Zuba said. "For a big animal like this, it will take four to five months for the fracture to heal, but his prognosis is good."

Maoto plays an important role in the San Diego Zoo Global's goal of recovering the northern white rhino, a distant relative of the southern white rhino. Currently, only two northern white rhinos still exist on the planet and both are female.

Maoto is the father of Edward, a southern white rhino calf who was conceived via artificial insemination and born in July.

Zoo officials aim to use stem cells and preserved northern white rhino cells to birth a northern white rhino calf within 10 to 20 years. The zoo's southern white rhinos would serve as surrogates for the northern white rhino embryos through artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization or an embryo transfer.

If the plan proves successful, researchers could attempt similar assisted reproduction techniques with the critically endangered Sumatran and Javan rhinos.

Also see:

• Rhino Born Via Artificial Insemination Named 'Future'
• Second Rhino Born Via Artificial Insemination At Safari Park
• Pregnant Rhino In San Diego Could Help Save Subspecies
• Second Southern White Rhino Pregnant At San Diego Zoo Safari Park
• Rhino's Historic Birth Could Help Save Subspecies From Extinction
• Rhino Calf Explores Main Exhibit For First Time At Safari Park

City News Service contributed to this report.