Beloved rhino’s death shrouded in mystery after health condition puzzles Alabama zoo
A rhino was put down about a year and a half after arriving at an Alabama zoo.
Moyo, the 6-year-old Eastern black rhinoceros, was euthanized by staff members at The Birmingham Zoo after he developed a strangle health condition, according to the zoo’s Jan. 30 Facebook post. The zoo called the loss of Moyo “devastating.”
“Our vet team will continue to search for answers for what happened to Moyo so we can learn from this tragic event,” zoo president Chris Pfefferkorn said in a news release.
Moyo was born in 2017 and arrived as a new resident at The Birmingham Zoo on June 11, 2022, according to the zoo. He soon became a “beloved” addition to the zoo, according to the post.
His health deterioration happened suddenly after he went into a standard dental procedure on Jan. 25 under anesthesia, according to the zoo.
While Moyo was under the medication, staff from the Southeast Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation and the Omaha Zoo collected semen to assess for potential artificial insemination. His dental and reproductive procedures “went as planned,” the zoo said.
But when Moyo woke up, he was unable to stand.
Zoo staff reached out to “local and national experts” to try to figure out what was wrong with Moyo, according to its post. Additional aid ranged from asking a local tow company to lift Moyo to a Kansas-based animal search and rescue group assessing the rhino’s issue.
At one point, staff used a “large metal tripod” to get Moyo on his feet but it was unsuccessful, the zoo said.
Despite two days of “heroic efforts,” Moyo still couldn’t stand on his own, the zoo said. That left staff with a tough decision that ultimately resulted in the 6-year-old rhino being put down Jan. 26.
“Our staff went above and beyond to care for Moyo,” Pfefferkorn said.
Kesi, a 6-year-old female, is now the last Eastern black rhino left at The Birmingham Zoo, according to the news release.
