The Cincinnati Fire Department was called to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Tuesday morning after a report that someone was bitten by a rhinoceros, according to dispatchers.
District 4 dispatch confirmed one person was hurt by the zoo's baby black rhinoceros Kendi during a private encounter.
"We heard that a citizen was having a private encounter with a baby rhinoceros and they got bit on the finger," a District 4 dispatcher said.
The incident is under review, according to zoo spokeswoman Michelle Curry. The incident occurred during a standard, behind the scenes tour with staff. Hundreds of people do the same tour every year without incident, she said.
The zoo tweeted an update Tuesday afternoon.
"Kendi, the one-year-old rhino, nipped the tip of an adult male's right index finger during a behind the scenes encounter earlier today. The guest is being treated for a minor injury and expected to be fine," zoo officials said via social media.
The zoo’s black rhino Seyia gave birth to Kendi, which means “the loved one” in Swahili, in July 2017. She was the first black rhino to be born at the Cincinnati Zoo since 1999. The species is critically endangered due to poaching and habitat loss. Fewer the 5,000 black rhinos remain in the world.
