Brookfield Zoo's rhino marks 8th birthday with 'cake'

Zookeepers made Layla the black rhino a birthday "cake" with fruits, vegetables and flavored ice to celebrate the day.

BROOKFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- After a year filled with two dozen life-saving surgeries and medical procedures, Layla the black rhino celebrated her eighth birthday at the Brookfield Zoo Thursday.

Zookeepers made her a birthday "cake" with fruits, vegetables and flavored ice to celebrate the day, one the zoo was not sure would come, it said in a press release.
[Ads /]

Layla the black rhinoceros is moved to the vestibule of the Pachyderm House to receive a CT scan. The 2,300-pound rhino is being treated for an infection in her nasal passageway.none

Veterinary staff prepare Layla, a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros, to receive a CT scan inside Brookfield Zoo's Pachyderm House.WLS

Michelle Soszynski, a senior veterinary technician for the Chicago Zoological Society, monitors Layla a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros, as she receives a CT scan.WLS

Doctors compare a CT scan image taken on April 19 (left) and another on May 15 of Layla, an eastern black rhinoceros.WLS

Layla has been battling a life-threatening sinus infection since last December, and it was not until this August that she was able to comfortably breathe through both nostrils, the zoo said.

Dr. Sathya Chinnadurai, senior staff veterinarian for the Chicago Zoological Society, stabilizes Layla, a 2,300-pound eastern black rhinoceros at Brookfield Zoo.none

The Chicago Zoological Society veterinary staff stabilize Layla, a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros at Brookfield Zoo.none

Layla, a 2,300-pound eastern black rhinoceros at Brookfield Zoo, is lifted by a front-end loader, manned by Greg Wall, an assistant lead groundskeeper,.none

A dedicated team of staff take direction from Dr. Michael Adkesson (right), vice president of clinical medicine for the Chicago Zoological Society.none

Dr. Sathya Chinnadurai, senior staff veterinarian for the Chicago Zoological Society, monitors Layla a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros.none

Chicago Zoological Society’s Dr. Sathya Chinnadurai (left), senior staff veterinarian, and Dr. Michael Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine, monitor Layla.none

Layla, is monitored by Chicago Zoological Society veterinary staff while she is being moved to a surgical table that can accommodate her weight.none

Carrie Sapienza and Vince Valderrama, senior groundskeepers for the Chicago Zoological Society, help position Layla.none

Layla, a 7½-year-old eastern black rhinoceros is wheeled into Brookfield Zoo's Pachyderm House.none

[Ads /]
"We are very grateful and appreciative to those who have worked closely with our dedicated staff in doing everything possible to help Layla and give her the best chance of celebrating many more birthdays," Michael Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine for the Chicago Zoological Society, said in the release.

Report a correction or typo