Flying Rhinos!

A new technique to move Black Rhinos out of areas known for poachers is to tranquilize them, then attach them to a helicopter by the feet, upside down, for the short flight out of the danger area.

Veterinarians say this is the least impact (to the Rhino) way to move these huge animals, much less invasive than bouncy truck transport going over roadless terrain.

That is really cool.


Clickable link -> http://youtu.be/pTWPg_8sK78

From the video description:
A relatively new capture technique was used to airlift some of the rhinos out of difficult or inaccessible areas by helicopter. This entails suspending the sleeping rhino by the ankles for a short trip through the air to awaiting vehicles. “Previously rhinos were either transported by lorry over very difficult tracks, or airlifted in a net. This new procedure is gentler on the darted rhino because it shortens the time it has to be kept asleep with drugs, the respiration is not as compromised as it can be in a net and it avoids the need for travel in a crate over terrible tracks,” explains Dr Flamand. “Another advantage is that rhinos can be more easily removed from dangerous situations, for example if they have fallen asleep in a donga or other difficult terrain after being darted. The helicopter translocations usually take less than ten minutes, and the animals suffer no ill effect. All of the veterinarians working on the translocation agreed that this was now the method of choice for the well-being of the animals.”

Source -> http://www.thehighdefinite.com/2011/11/the-black-rhinoceros-declared-officially-extinct/ via http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/rhino-flies