A two-year-old girl was rushed to hospital after she fell into a rhino enclosure at a zoo on New Year’s Day.
The child was visiting the Brevard Zoo, in Florida, on Tuesday and witnesses said she stumbled before falling into the exhibit.
The incident happened during a hands-on rhino experience where the participants are separated from the animals with metal poles.
The girl entered the rhino’s domain by going between two of these.
A statement from the zoo confirmed the child was touched “by the snout” of at least one rhinoceros, though it is reported that no horns are thought to have hit her.
Keith Winsten, the Zoo’s executive director, confirmed the incident in a statement and said: “Our number one concern is the safety and welfare of our guests and our hearts go out to the family.”
A spokesman for the zoo, home to four southern white rhinos, said there have been no incidents during its hands-on experiences prior to Tuesday.
The girl’s mother was also taken to the hospital, in Orlando, for medical treatment.
The exact details of the pair’s injuries is unclear.
However, CBS reported that a statement from the girl’s father said she was “doing well” while the mother had been released from care.
