At first glance , the image of arhinocerosbound by their feet and swinging top side - down from a whirlybird provoke a bit of concern . It does n’t search comfortable for the animal and seems almost haphazard . However , it ’s a key element to their on-going survival .
In Africa , black rhinos are atargetfor poachers , who are capable to peddle their horn in lucrative alternate medicine and jewelry markets . Over a 30 - class span between the sixties and 1990s , their universe was reduced by a staggering 98 percentage , to the tip that few than 3000 stay .
To stave off poachers , conservationists relocate rhinoceros to more outback and inaccessible orbit . Because roads may not be available , airlifting the animal becomes the only effective means to transport them , leading to the strange sight of a monolithic rhino drop from a whirlybird .
But why upside - down ? Moving a rhino requires massive measure of sedation , which can contribute tohypoxemia , or low oxygen story in the line of descent . By keeping the brute upside - down , the air passage is relatively unobstructed . Positioning a rhino on its side contribute to rock-bottom O being deliver to its body while under anaesthesia .
The scheme was plump for by a recentstudypublished in theJournal of Wildlife Diseases , which looked at 12 rhinos suspended both laterally and by their foot . detectable improvements in arterial O insistence were observed when the animal was upside - down .
Using a stretcher also leads to longer preparation times — up to 30 minutes , as oppose to just a few minute of arc to secure their feet to the straps . The less time the rhino pass under sedation , the best .
The pattern of fly rhinos , if not exactly first - class , is possess a demonstrable effect on their population . It ’s now around 5600 , or more than double that of the 1990s . Rhino poaching in Namibia is down 40 per centum from 2019 .
[ h / tCNN ]
