Zookeeper struck by rhino's horn at Florida zoo

A Florida zookeeper was taken to a hospital after she was struck by the horn of a rhino Tuesday, according to officials at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

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Officials said the zookeeper made contact with Archie, a 50-year-old male Southern white rhino, during a routine training session.

The woman was not alone at the time she was struck, since zookeepers work in teams during training.

Archie is the second-largest animal at the zoo.

This is the second incident this year in which someone was injured by a rhino at a Florida zoo. On New Year's Day, a rhino injured a toddler at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne.

A 56-page report released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated the 21-month-old girl stumbled through steel poles separating the public space, which is at ground level, from the Rhino Encounter exhibit.

The FWC report said investigators believe the two poles between which the toddler fell were about 8 inches apart.

According to the report, the family was at the Rhino Encounter area around noon that day when three rhinos were in the exhibit.

A few minutes later, the girl was “using a brush to touch one of the rhinos and somehow stumbled,” FWC said. Her father told FWC the girl fell face first.

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