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A 2-year-old girl goes to hospital after stumbling on a rhino show in a Florida zoo and having been in contact with one of these animals, officials said Tuesday.
The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, said that the girl was participating in a "hands-on educational experience" with the white rhinos from the south of the zoo when it apparently fell between steel poles separating the guests rhinoceros sorting. The zoo is about 50 miles southeast of Orlando.
In a statement, the zoo indicates that "the muzzle of at least one of the rhinos has come into contact with the child". The spokesman, Elliot Zirulnik, told WKMG-TV, affiliated with CBS, that the snout was defined as the area under the animal's horn.
The girl was rescued and taken to the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando, WKMG reported. The mother of the child was also transported to a local hospital for indefinite treatment.
In a statement released by the hospital later Tuesday, the girl's father said that she "was doing well" and that the mother had been neat and released. The family asked for confidentiality after what the father called a "difficult day".
Brevard Zoo
"Our number one concern is the safety and well-being of our guests and our heart goes out to the family," said Zoo Executive Director Keith Winsten. "Safety has always been of paramount importance to us and we are suspending these meetings until we have thoroughly reviewed our processes and procedures to prevent this from happening again."
The zoo said the "Rhino Meetings" had been organized daily without incident. for about a decade.
Brevard Zoo is home to four southern white rhinos, including two males and two females, according to its website. Frankie, a 16-year-old man weighing 5,200 pounds, arrived at the zoo in October
Officials told WKMG that the rhinos involved would not be punished in any way.
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