Rhinoceros Whipsnade - A zoo keeper has been severely injured by a 30-stone rhino, which is reported to have head butted and stumped on the man at the Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable area, Bedfordshire, England.
According to the unidentified victim's colleagues, the rhinoceros Whipsnade incident occurred when the victim was giving food to the animal inside the Asian rhino's enclosure.
"This morning one of our senior keepers was found injured within the Asian rhino enclosure. Procedures were immediately put into place to secure that scene and the emergency services were called," David Field, the director of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said in a statement.
The zoo keeper involved in the rhinoceros Whipsnade attack, who is in his 50s, has since been rushed via ambulance to the Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
Dave Tamarro of the East of England Ambulance Service, who helped air lift the patient after the rhinoceros Whipsnade attack, has commented on the incident. "When we arrived it was clear that the patient had received a number of injuries," he said. "We stabilized the patient whilst the air ambulance was on its way."
Paramedics reportedly also administered pain relief to the victim at the scene of the incident.
Doctors say he is in critical but stable condition. He is said to have undergone surgery. The name of the rhino at the center of the attack has been given as Ajang. The animal is said to have attacked the zoo keeper, stamping and trampling on him.
The victim was later found in a pool of blood and immersed in water. Reports say he suffered injuries to his abdomen, pelvis and chest.
The rhinoceros Whipsnade attack was described as shocking by a mother who visited the zoo with her son. "It is so shocking. You just never think things like that are going to happen," Sally Anderson said. "We were on the rhino enclosure today as they are Noah's (her two year old son) favorite and they all looked perfectly friendly. It just reminds you what they are capable of - they are wild animals."
Ajang is a Nepalese grey rhino, who was born in 2010. The name given to the animal means 'enormous' in Nepali. The rhino shares the enclosure with three others including his mother, who is named Behan.
Reports indicate that the Health and Safety Executive and Central Bedfordshire Council have opened an investigation into the rhinoceros Whipsnade attack.
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