A plan that once sounded “completely ridiculous” has helped save the eyesight — and possibly the life — of an endangered white rhino in Africa.
Animal behaviourists from the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society travelled to Zimbabwe in August 2025 to treat a male southern white rhino named Thuza, who was suffering from a severe parasitic eye infection that threatened to leave him blind.
Corralling a wild rhino into a narrow chute to administer daily eyedrops seemed unrealistic at first. But conservationists say the unconventional strategy worked.
🦏 A Blind Rhino Is a Dead Rhino
Thuza lives near Hwange National Park, where the Community Rhino Conservation Initiative is working to reintroduce southern white rhinos to communal lands for the first time in Zimbabwe’s history.
The rhino’s condition alarmed conservation leaders.
“He had bleeding eyes and was rubbing them constantly,” said Imvelo managing director Mark Butcher. “We were looking at a real possibility that he could lose his eyesight.”
In the wild, blindness can be fatal for rhinos, leaving them vulnerable to predators and poachers.
💡 Training Instead of Tranquilising
Instead of repeatedly sedating the massive animal — a risky and stressful option — behavioural experts Thad and Angi Lacinak, founders of Precision Behavior, developed a training-based solution.
Using techniques practiced at the Palm Beach Zoo, they:
Lured Thuza into a confined space using his favourite foods
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Gradually desensitised him to human contact
Trained him to tolerate water squirting near his face
Eventually administered eye medication directly
Within a week, the team was successfully applying eye drops. By the second week, local anti-poaching scouts had learned the technique and continued the treatment independently.
“They’re consistently getting the medication into his eyes every day,” Angi Lacinak said. “The rhinos are thriving now.”
🌍 A Bigger Conservation Battle
Southern white rhinos are currently listed as near threatened, with approximately 16,000 remaining in the wild. However, poaching and habitat loss continue to pose serious risks.
For conservationists, saving Thuza’s eyesight represents more than just helping one animal — it protects the future of a pioneering reintroduction programme.
What once sounded absurd may now become a model for wildlife care across Africa.
– AP
-Thestar