BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Months after a 2-year-old girl was injured when she fell into a rhino encounter exhibit at the Brevard Zoo, officials now have a timeline for when safety improvements will be made.
A zoo spokesperson said the media will be invited when the changes are unveiled toward the end of April.
The changes, which were approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, include adding physical barriers to the rhino exhibit, prohibiting children under 7 from participating in the encounter and making the participant group size smaller.
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On Jan. 1, the toddler was with her parents and two zookeepers when she fell backward between the steel posts separating guests from the three southern white rhinoceroses and landed in their enclosure.
A report from FWC says the girl's father quickly reached between the posts to grab the girl, but once she was lifted into the rhinos' line of view, two of the females got spooked and used their snouts to repeatedly push her up against the steel bars.
The 10-second encounter left the girl with a lacerated liver, a bruised lung as well as contusions on her body.
Once the safety improvements are made, the hands-on encounter will be reopened to the public.