Black rhino believed to be among oldest in the world dies at Zoo Miami
A Florida zoo is mourning the loss of a popular black rhino who was believed to be the oldest member of his species in North America.
Zoo Miami announced the death of Toshi on Friday, describing the rhino as arguably “the most beloved animal in the history” of the venue.
The rhino was approaching his 44th birthday.
“Unfortunately, along with that advanced age, came a variety of ailments that had become increasingly debilitating over the last several months,” the zoo said in its announcement. “Though some of those ailments, such as severe arthritis, were being successfully treated with medications, as time wore on, the treatments became less and less effective.”
The zoo said it recently opted to immobilize Toshi in order to conduct tests on the animal, hoping they would help determine why the rhino was losing weight at a “dramatic” rate.
However, the tests did not provide the insight that animal experts were hoping for.
“For the next several days his condition would ebb and flow until last night when he was struggling to get up and it became obvious that his quality of life had diminished to the point where there was no hope of recovery and the incredibly difficult decision was made to euthanize him,” the zoo continued in Friday’s statement.
Toshi arrived at the Zoo Miami in 1983, six years after he was born in Japan. The rhino was a great-grandfather, the zoo said.
“Though impressive and intimidating in size and strength, he was a gentle animal and made a huge contribution to preserving his highly endangered species by siring several offspring during his time with us,” the zoo said.
Toshi was believed to be the second-oldest black rhino in the world before his death.
