By Miriam Raftery

File photo by Miriam Raftery:  A crash of rhinos at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, spring 2023

July 18, 2023 (San Diego) – “Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV), a viral disease that affects hooved mammals, has been confirmed in southern white rhinos living at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park,” Darla  Davis, Senior Public Relations Representative for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, confirmed today in an  email to ECM.

The International Rhino Foundation estimates there are fewer than 16,000 white rhinos left in the world, due to poaching losses. All but two of these survivors are southern white rhinos; the population has decreased by almost 12% in the past four years.