Earlier this year The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust received a young rescued rhino calf of one year old which was found abandoned by his mother.  The fate of his mother was never ascertained but it is assumed he was orphaned as a result of being blind in both eyes.  Dr. Peter Schwendermann confirmed that he had bilateral cataracts and that there was a possibility of restoring sight.   An operation was performed on the left eye by Dr. Peter Schewendermann but regrettably due to reasons unknown this was unsuccessful.  Since then we have done further research in order to find a veterinarian who has performed this operation successfully before on a rhino and our search led us to Dr. Anthony Goodhead based in South Africa.  The Trust has been in contact with Dr. Goodhead who is happy to assist in trying to restore some sight to the remaining eye.

Dr. Goodhead has done successful bilateral cataract surgery using phacoemulsification on a rhino before and it is this expertise we would like to harness in order to have the best possible chance for Maxwell’s remaining right eye.  Dr. Goodhead will be travelling to Kenya with his equipment to perform this operation in the presence of and in consultation with both Dr. Peter Schwendermann and Dr. Dieter Rottcher who would be responsible for the anesthetic, in early January 2008.