White rhino rescued in Zimbabwe after tyre gets stuck around horn

Vets from Aware Trust Zimbabwe have rescued a white rhino after it trapped its snout in a washed-up car tyre.

The rhino, a dominant bull named Mark, was unable to eat or drink with the tyre trapped around its snout.

Park rangers called vets after the rhino was unable to free itself.

The vets from Aware Trust, Keith and Lisa, travelled one-and-a-half hours to get to Mark.

The lake near where the rhino was grazing is known for being polluted and its banks are regularly littered with nets and tyres.

According to Aware Trust, the muscles a rhino uses to open its mouth are much weaker than those used to close it.

In order to free the animal safely, the vets were forced to use a tranquiliser dart.

“We found Mark, the dominant bull, lying close to his girlfriends, looking decidedly dejected and exhausted from his ordeal on this scorching hot day,” Aware Trust Zimbabwe said in a Facebook post.

“Fortunately the tyre came off in a few minutes with man power, and we did not have to resort to cutting through it.

“Eleven minutes later he was antidoted (sic) and grazing again as if nothing had happened.” ABC News