Now that The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes is in bookstores, I'll include patient updates in my blog. Here's #1:

Mohan the Rhino

Mo was recently moved to the Miami Metrozoo, where he lived before his move to Washington, DC, ten years ago. He appears content and calm in a recent photo despite his age—nearly 39-years old.

Greater one-horned rhino Mohan in September 2007 at the Miami Metrozoo. Photograph by Ron Magill, Miami Metrozoo

Mohan wore three specially made glue-on shoes on each of his back feet until they wore off. We used this technique, borrowed from equine medicine, to prevent excessive wear of the rhino's toenails, roughly equivalent to a horse hoof wall. Our goal was to help the rhino walk as he would in the wild—on his toes—and take the pressure off his cracked soles so they could heal. Other vets have tried a similar approach. One team used acrylic to build up the toenails rather than gluing on a shoe.

Mohan's glue-on shoes. Photograph by Jim Pugh (blog continues)

Not long after Mo wore off his last shoe, he and Mechi were moved to the White Oak Conservation Research Center in Yulee, Florida, a recommendation of the rhino breeding specialist group. When the pair left Washington, DC, in June 2003, we of course hoped they'd produce a calf, but I think the vet and keeper staff wished even more that Mo's feet might finally heal. And they did. With access to a large pool and mud wallow year-round, his feet showed dramatic improvement within a year.

Unfortunately, Mohan never bred with the female, Mechi, who has since been paired with a different male at White Oak. Knowing what we do now about greater one-horned rhino foot problems, there is no reason his feet should deteriorate again. With the warm, humid Florida climate and access to plenty of mud, we hope Mo will continue walking on his toes.