A black rhino named Toshi has died from a variety of ailments caused by advanced age, Miami Zoo said in a news release on Friday.
Zoo officials said the nearly 44-year-old rhino is believed to be the oldest Eastern black rhino in North America, and the second oldest in the world, officials said
The rhino's ailments, including severe arthritis, were being successfully treated with medications, but zoo officials said the treatments became less effective as time went on.
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In the past few weeks, the rhino experienced dramatic weight loss and became lethargic, the news release said. Zoo officials conducted many tests to try to determine what caused the weight loss, but no conclusive answers were found.
Last week, officials decided to immobilize the rhino for more detailed tests. Toshi awakened from the procedure, but the tests revealed no new information about his sudden health decline, the news release said.
The rhino's condition “would ebb and flow" until Thursday night, when he struggled to get up. His caretakers determined that his quality of life had diminished to the point that there was no hope for recovery, the news release said. The rhino was euthanized.
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Toshi was born in April 1977 in Hiroshima, Japan, and arrived at Zoo Miami in April 1983.
