A (T)horny Situation in Melbourne

The 2019 edition of "Kids Fall Into Exhibits with Zoo Animals" got off to a great start yesterday when a small child tumbled into the white rhinoceros enclosure at the Brevard Zoo. 

The child was present with his parents, who were participating in a close-up encounter with the rhinos, when she fell between the concrete bollards that separate the guests from the animals.  The child was bumped by the snout of a rhino - which, when you consider what is at the end of a rhino's snout, was probably pretty terrifying to behold  - before being retrieved from the exhibit and rushed to the hospital.  The child's mother was also injured in her attempt to remove the child from the enclosure. 

All in all, everyone is expected to be okay, human and rhino.  The encounter program is on hold pending a review for safety reasons.  Seeing as this program has been going on at Brevard since 2009, and that this is the first incident to occur, it sounds kind of like a one-off.  Hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon from this near-miss.


Photo Credit: Brevard Zoo