IAG transports six white rhinos via A380

An A380 is not the first place one would expect to find a one-tonne rhinoceros, but IAG Cargo recently managed the feat on a flight from Johannesburg to Miami on Oct. 25. On British Airways’ first A380 flight from Joburg to Miami, IAG Cargo’s Live Animal division oversaw the safe transport of six endangered white rhinos as part of a global conservation effort to ensure the continued genetic diversity for breeding programs.

Gabriella Tamasi, product manager with Live Animals at IAG, said the passenger-oriented A380 still provided ample belly space for the huge animals and allowed the carrier to control the temperature to within one degree of accuracy, which was important because rhinos give off a considerable amount of body heat. Veterinary teams were available on board every step of the way.

African rhinos face a range of external threats, including poaching and an encroachment on their habitat by humans. Fortunately, white rhinos have become a conservation success story. Numbers in the wild had dropped to as low as 50 in the early 1900s, but this subspecies has now increased in number to more than 20,000, becoming the most populous of the rhino species. The international zoo breeding program will help ensure the long-term success of the species, far removed from poachers.