Brookfield Zoo rhino gets a CT scan

A rhinoceros at Brookfield Zoo has undergone what’s believed to be the first CT scan performed on the species. It was no easy task.

Layla is 7 1/2 years old and 2,300 pounds. Zoo officials say the scan was needed to diagnose an obstruction in Layla’s nasal passageway that made it difficult for her to breathe.

Because Layla was too large to move inside the zoo’s hospital a CT scanner had to be brought to the Pachyderm House.

A front loader was needed to lift the rhino onto the surgical table. About 40 staff members helped with the process and did practice runs with 2,300 pounds of concrete.

The images revealed abnormal tissue near an upper molar. The zoo says Layla is resting comfortably and surgery is planned.

Veterinary staff stabilize Layla, a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros. | Kelly Tone/ Chicago Zoological Society via AP

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Layla, a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros is wheeled into Brookfield Zoo’s Pachyderm House. | Kelly Tone/ Chicago Zoological Society via AP

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Carrie Sapienza and Vince Valderrama, senior groundskeepers, help position Layla on a surgical table. | Kelly Tone/ Chicago Zoological Society via AP

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Dr. Michael Adkesson, right, vice president of clinical medicine for the Chicago Zoological Society, directs staff as they prepare to position Layla onto a mat. | Kelly Tone/ Chicago Zoological Society via AP

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Dr. Sathya Chinnadurai, senior staff veterinarian, monitors Layla a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros, as she receives a CT scan inside the Zoo’s Pachyderm House. | Kelly Tone/ Chicago Zoological Society via AP

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