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COURTESY CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
Satsuki, a 26-year-old female black rhinoceros at the Honolulu Zoo, died this week due to “complications associated with illness and age.”
COURTESY CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
Satsuki, a 26-year-old female black rhinoceros at the Honolulu Zoo, died this week due to “complications associated with illness and age.”
A 26-year-old black rhinoceros at the Honolulu died this week of “complications associated with illness and age,” the City and County of Honolulu announced today.
Veterinarians, curators and keepers at the zoo decided to perform an emergency procedure on the female rhinoceros, named Satsuki, “when she had shown signs of increased abdominal pressure and rectal prolapse,” according Honolulu Zoo Director Linda Santos via a city news release.
Satsuki was anesthetized to allow staff to address the prolapsed tissue, but she did not wake up from the procedure.
She died Monday evening, the city said.
“Satsuki was an adorable black rhino known for her particularly long tufts of hair on her ears. She will be dearly missed as Satsuki was always very visible to the public and a favorite of many zoo members and staff who would watch her bathe in her pool and interact with Corky,” Santos said in a statement.
A necropsy “revealed significant fluid buildup, infiltrative disease, and inflammatory response throughout body tissues.” Satsuki was also tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19 in people, but it did not contribute to her illness or death.
Satsuki was born on May 16, 1995, at the Asa Zoo in Hiroshima, Japan, which is a sister city to Honolulu. In 1999, Satsuki was flown from Hiroshima to Honolulu.
The rhinoceros lived with a male black rhinoceros, Corky, at the Honolulu Zoo for 22 years.
The species is native to eastern and southern Africa and can live 35-50 years. It is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN.
