OU-HCOM researchers help South African veterinarians
save poaching victims

A white rhinoceros in South Africa survived a poaching incident with a little high-tech help from researchers in the biomedical sciences department and scanning equipment at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital.
In March, Dr. William Fowlds, a veterinarian at Kariega Game Reserve, found three severely mutilated rhinoceroses, the victims of poachers. Dr. Fowlds contacted Lawrence Witmer, Ph.D., professor of anatomy, after discovering
Dr. Witmer’s research on rhino nasal cavities.

Using a white rhino head preserved in his lab freezer and the CT scanner at O’Bleness, Dr. Witmer and his team immediately made new 3D images of rhino nasal cavities to help the rescue team better understand the rhinos’ injuries. Dr. Witmer, who is also the Chang Professor of Paleontology, often uses scans of modern animals in his research to further understand ancient animals.

Two bulls died of their injuries. The third, a cow called Thandiswa,

continues to recover at a rate Kariega staff describe as “inspiring.” Kariega staff members believe poachers removed the rhinos’ horns to sell on the black market. Poaching is on the rise at an alarming rate in Asia and Africa fueled by a mistaken belief that rhino horns provide medicinal benefits.

“It’s a tragic story. We’re happy to be playing some tiny, tiny part, and
it’s the one part that we can play, mainly because of our collaboration with O’Bleness, which is to generate some imagery of rhinos that can be
informative,” Dr. Witmer said.