Knowsley safari park rhino has world-first operation

A rhinoceros with a broken leg is back on its feet after a world-first operation.

Amara, a southern white rhino at Knowsley safari park, was given keyhole surgery and had to wear a cast for four weeks.

Surgeons took what they knew about operating on horses and applied it to Amara because there was so little information about rhinos which had been injured in this way.

A team of 10 vets was involved in the operation, which they described as “unlike anything we’ve experienced previously”.

Amara had begun limping on her right front leg earlier this year, and radiographs confirmed the rhino had a fractured ulna.

Specialist surgeons and anaesthetists, nurses, and animal keepers, as well as support staff – carried out the operation at the Merseyside safari park.

The large team performed a lengthy operation with Amara under anaesthesia in her enclosure, including key-hole surgery on her “wrist”.

Senior Lecturer in Equine Surgery at the University of Liverpool, Dr David Stack, explained: “Amara’s operation is unlike anything we’ve experienced previously.

“We knew we could position the camera inside her joint, but due to the unprecedented nature of the procedure, we didn’t know how much room we would have to operate, or how much of the affected area we would be able to see.”

Amara wore a full limb cast to support her leg post-operation and stayed in her enclosure to minimise movement.

Knowsley Safari’s animal keepers provided a comfortable space by keeping her with mum Meru, covered the floor of her stall in rubber mats and straw, and provided plenty of mud.

Dr Stack said: “We were unsure if the cast would be strong enough and how Amara would cope with such a restriction on her limb.

“We hoped that she would accept it and that she would be able to move around, get down and, importantly, back up again but this was unchartered water.”

Eventually, Amara was on her feet again and able to enjoy life outdoors once more, graduating from a small paddock and to the open space of the park’s Safari Drive.

The surgical team injected Amara’s affected joint with platelet-rich plasma, a solution derived from Amara’s own blood, to help with Amara’s ongoing healing.

Dr Stack concludes: “Treating Amara has been a truly ground-breaking veterinary journey incorporating many firsts which we will now document should another animal team encounter similar scenarios in the future, though we very much hope the notes are never needed.”

Amara’s birth in October 2022 was showcased on Channel 4’s Secret Life of the Safari Park.