2 days ago
Doppsee, Park Park Zoo's eastern black rhino, in critical condition
LANSING - Despite weeks of treatment and some improvement at times, Potter Park Zoo's eastern black rhino is in critical condition, zoo officials said.
Doppsee, 18, experienced "a medical emergency" on July 28. Zoo staff determined that emergency to be an obstruction, the zoo said on July 31.
In an Aug. 19 statement, zoo officials said Doppsee's condition had worsened.
"As many of you know, the zoo's female eastern black rhino, Doppsee, has been undergoing treatment for several weeks by a team of veterinarians led by Dr. Ronan Eustace, our Director of Animal Health," officials wrote in a statement on Facebook. "Doppsee's condition has gone up and down throughout the treatment as she seems to respond positively to treatment and then regresses. Her condition is currently critical as we continue to do everything we can to help her recover. We thank you for keeping our entire team in your thoughts as they continue to work tirelessly to treat and monitor Doppsee."
The zoo had announced the illness on July 29, one day after 'her behaviors indicated a very sudden decline in her health.'
Veterinarian Ronan Eustace, the zoo's director of animal health, said staff noticed signs that were "acute in nature." Doppsee stopped eating and seemed to be uncomfortable and much quieter than usual, he said. There were signs of colic, he said.
Doppsee came to the Lansing zoo in 2011, Her pairing with Phineus in 2017 produced a male calf born in December 2019. The calf was named Jaali.
Black rhino births in captivity are relatively rare, and Jaali, the first black rhino calf ever born at Potter Park Zoo, captured the hearts of animal fans around the world.
Jaali was moved to Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in California in 2021 and paired with a female rhino from a zoo in Ohio as part of the Species Survival Plan, said Amy Morris-Hall, executive director of the Potter Park Zoological Society.
The eastern black rhino is critically endangered, with an estimated 5,000 living in the wild, Morris-Hall said. There are about 57 black rhinos living at zoos, she said.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Doppsee, Park Park Zoo's eastern black rhino, in critical condition
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