Lissa, white rhino who survived horn cancer, dies at age 43 at Lion Country Safari

LOXAHATCHEE — Lissa, the white rhino whose triumph over a rare horn cancer a decade ago drew the affection of animal lovers and the attention of the news media, died last week surrounded by her lifelong caretakers at Lion Country Safari.

The park’s staff said Monday that Lissa had died at the age of 43 from inoperable colic, which stemmed from digestive tract issues.

“It's absolutely devastating,” park spokesperson Haley McCann said. “We've been taking care of her her entire life.”

Despite the painful loss, McCann said, Lissa was a success story for Lion Country Safari, which since 1967 has cared for wild animals with minimal human intervention. In the wild, rhinos tend to live 30 to 35 years.

“We were able to manage her cancer case and get her almost 10 extra years of quality, comfortable life living with her herd,” she said.

From 2014: Free of basketball-sized tumor, Lissa the Rhino is a cancer survivor

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Lissa was born on Dec. 11, 1980, at Lion Country Safari. She was among the first white rhinos ever to be born in the park, where they roam free next to zebras and wildebeests while visitors watch them from their cars.

White rhinos, a species native to Africa, have two horns and are considered critically endangered after conservationists thought they had gone extinct in the late 1990s due to poaching.

Lion Country Safari has 14 white rhinos and is part of the White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan, a national program by the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums to prevent the white rhinos' extinction.

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Ten years ago, Lissa’s caretaker saw a sore on the base of her bottom horn. A veterinarian found a tumor the size of a squished basketball and diagnosed her with a rare form of horn cancer in December 2013.

Veterinarians and doctors from local hospitals jumped on the mission to save Lissa.

They performed five dangerous surgeries to cut out the tumor, drilling at her horn and injecting chemotherapy drugs to prevent a spread on the rest. It was one of the first recorded procedures of its type.

Lissa's diagnosis garnered her national attention with an outpouring of letters, social-media comments and visits to the safari park from around the country.

A veterinarian declared Lissa was cancer-free years later, and she continued to live with the herd, including her two daughters, Eliza, 22, and Kiangaza, 27.

Lissa's progress sparked celebrations at Lion Country Safari

Despite the painful procedures, McCann said, Lissa never stopped coming over to her caretaker for sweet molasses, and she would squiggle her eyes at the veterinarian.

Lissa even learned how to place her head on a disk for radiography.

“It's like she was able to recognize that we were helping her,” McCann said. “Every time we would reach a new milestone of getting her healthy, everybody would cheer and celebrate.”

Ever since the announcement of Lissa's death, the park's staff has been overwhelmed with hundreds of caring messages from people in the community.

McCann said most of the messages will be framed on a poster board for the staff to read as they mourn her loss.

“She will be sorely missed,” said McCann. “But her legacy lives on in our fond memories of her and through the lasting impact on rhinoceros care and veterinary treatment from her battle with cancer.”

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lion Country Safari rhino dies at drive-thru zoo in Palm Beach County