The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
Rufus and Alfred, the Virginia Zoo's aging white rhinoceroses, were known to stomp the ground and huff at each other through bars that always separated them.
Because all male white rhinos are notoriously aggressive with each other, the two were kept apart.
But something went wrong Sunday night. They met. They tangled.
By Monday morning, 36-year-old, two-ton Rufus was dead from a ruptured liver, a veterinary exam concluded.
Zoo director Greg Bockheim said a keeper did not follow protocol and failed to secure a gate that separated them after shifting the animals to their night quarters.
He said the rhinos charged each other sometime overnight. Alfred's horn struck Rufus in the side, causing the fatal injury. Alfred has scratches on his face but otherwise appeared fine.
Bockheim said the zoo is conducting an internal investigation and has notified the United States Department of Agriculture, which may review the incident as well.
Bockheim said action will be taken against the employee at the conclusion of the investigation. He added that zoo procedures will be reviewed and changes will be made if necessary.
"All of the staff is very much grieving," Bockheim said.
There were no witnesses to the fight. "I have no idea who started it and I wouldn't even want to guess," general curator Louise Hill said. "Either one of them would be willing to start it, depending on whoever saw the other first."
Rufus came to zoo in 1974, making him the longest resident. He weighed more than 4,300 pounds.
Alfred, 40, arrived at the zoo 12 years ago. Despite his older age, Alfred was more energetic than Rufus.
Both are considered old. The average life span for captive rhinos is 25 to 45 years.
Hill said she had seen worse wounds on Rufus when the zoo had a female rhino and the two engaged in physical mating rituals that included using their horns to toss each other.
"When I first saw the wounds, they didn't look critical - very superficial," she said. "Alfred got him in the right spot."
It's been a couple of years since a headlining animal died at the zoo, which had experienced a spate of deaths. Independent investigations of the earlier deaths cleared zoo staff of any blame.
The last death was a young zebra which died in October 2006 after she reacted to a rabies shot, ran into a fence and broke her neck.
Two years before that, another rhino was killed. Jesse, a female white rhino, was chased into a moat by a zebra and drowned. That was fewer than two months after a 2-day-old gazelle drowned after it wandered into the moat overnight.
Three animals died shortly after the zoo opened its new Africa exhibit in 2002.
Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com
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The press is constantly scrutinizing the actions of the zoo in articles that rehash century old occurances.
I understand that it seems so easy to blame the keeper, and ultimately, yes, it is the keepers responsibility. Just understand that at some point, we must realize that these caretakers are human. I have absolutely no doubt that the entire zoo staff is currently in mourning. I also have no doubt that immediate revisions will be made to the protocols. The zoo staff works hard every day to make sure accidents like this do not happen.
Keepers are only human...
As a past intern at the zoo, some of these comments are absolutely infuriating. I watched these keepers spend hours upon hours working with these animals, caring for these animals, and making sure every one of their needs were met. I also was present for the AZA inspection, during which almost every aspect of zoo was questioned to assure that things were running properly. The behind the scenes work done at the Norfolk Zoo is immense. These keepers treat these animals like family. When the lion cubs were born, you would have thought one of the keepers had just had a child at the way she spoke of them. It is easy to judge from the outside and cast blame on those you do not know, but what you might not have thought about is that the keepers do what they do because they love it. These animals are their passion. I promise you that they will punish themselves for much much longer and in more ways then they will be punished by the zoo.
Also, so many have mentioned the numerous deaths at the Norfolk Zoo. And yes, there have been accidents. But take note that each time a death happens, we are not only informed of this death, but reminded of the past ten that have occured. The pres
Caretaker has some responsibility but not all
The 'experts' who designed a single gate separation are the true folks at fault. Putting a gate between them acknowledges the alpha nature of the beasts. Animals have nothing but patience and time for such a mistake (opportunity). Twelve years seems like a long time but not when the opportunity comes along.
It's not about how much they
It's not about how much they care for the animals. It's about how well they care for them.
Remember, what was it, the praire dog mass suicide a couple years ago? Who knew they were hybernating. Who should have?
ok...
demosthenes, you have a problem.
Where is PETA?
They jump around and whine and cry every time a hog truck turns over and a few pigs get hurt, or whenever the circus comes to town, why are they not all over the norfolk zoo?
Violence
This is another example of how violence takes a toll. This senseless fight could have been resolved through other means. My heart goes out to the families of Rufus and Alfred, and I hope they can get past this. Are charges pending? I hope Alfred is behind bars today, where I think he should stay for good! We cannot allow dangerous individuals like him out on the streets!
Zoo Keepers
Sorry about the rhino...was this the same keeper who let the prairiedogs dig a hole and stay there a few days? Will the keeper be "kept" or let go?
last time??
To all those making comments about the lack of care of the animals receive at the hands of the caretakers, can I ask you, when was the last time you were at the zoo? I, personally, do not like zoos- they're just not my thing. But, I have 2 little boys who insist on twice monthly (at least) visits. The staff at the zoo has given me absolutely no indication that they care less than 100% for the animals there. They are very informative- getting down on the kids levels and explaining all they can, and then turning to a senior citizen group and rising to that level, too. If the grounds were not well kept with the exotic plants, you dissenters would have something to say about that too. It was a tragic occurance...that comes with wild animals. Do I think wild animals should be in the wild? Yes. Are they? No. So I take a look at what the zoo is giving them, and the Africa exhibit is wonderful for most of the animals...though the elephants reallllly do need more room- but that's funding and not the caretakers problem.
rip rufus
I am sure the zoo workers are feeling the lost of Rufus as we so easily blame the human that made a mistake as we all have and will again. Why don't we look at all the hard work and thankless jobs they do every day. We are so quick to focus on the bad and give no mine to good things
I am sure this same person has done. I am sure no one feels worse and wishes that this didn't happen. We have visit this zoo from time to time and maybe not for years this person is there everyday doing whatever happens to come up day to day and looks in the eyes of these animals. They love them talk to them laugh at them see the small day to day things that we miss We take a photo watch for a few minute before moving on to the next cage that has been cleaned repaired and maintained daily by this same person who made a mistake, a error, as we humans do. How dare we make harsh judgements and act like we know anything about how that error came to be.
Have you ever let your dog out and it was killed or hurt or even your child. We should all go to the zoo and thank these workers for the job they do and not stand in judgement