Rhinos are 'worst to move'

ESCAPE: RUN FOR THICKETS WHERE TRUCKS CAN'T GO

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Barely feeling the tranquilizer shot, the panic-stricken female rhino ran into a wooded area, eluding the low-flying helicopter trying to prevent her escape.

The rhino was supposed to be transferred to another park in Kenya on Saturday, but she outsmarted the humans.

A few minutes later, rangers in 4x4 vehicles searched through thickets too dense for the crane truck that was meant to carry her away.

A decision was quickly made to administer the antidote to the tranquilizer to prevent her from collapsing. If she fell the wrong way, she could suffocate. The young female will therefore remain where she was born.

"The rhino is the worst to translocate," said Taru Sheldrick, who was piloting the helicopter in Nakuru National Park in northwest Kenya, an oasis of greenery surrounding a deep blue lake.

"When you dart them, if you don't have long enough, they're running straight for thick bush, which is their security," he said.

"Whenever you're darting a rhino, you have a little bit of fear. Because it's a species in danger. Every animal is just so important."

Rhinos are on the brink of extinction.