A CASE STUDY:
DIARRHOEA IN A
FREE RANGING
SOUTH AFRICAN
WHITE RHINO
CALF
5H L Rowland and C W Fowlds
Ikhala Veterinary Wildlife Services
A six month old female white rhino calf presented
with acute diarrhoea of five days duration. The calf
lived with her mother free roaming on a South African
game reserve. The calf had been born on the reserve
and had no history of previous illness or recent stress.
No other trigger factors could be identified. The
rangers reported no obvious reduction in appetite or
lethargy but there were some concerns that the calf
appeared to be occasionally disorientated.
On the initial visit, the calf was visually assessed from
a game viewer. Both cow and calf were in open veld
so a good visual assessment could be made. The calf
was bright, alert and responsive but the rangers noted
she was a little quieter than usual. Appetite appeared
reasonable and she was following the usual distance
from her mother. The calf was see