Dermal anesthesia in the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) using a eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine.

Various methods have been used to obtain blood samples from unrestrained rhinoceros. Without extensive prior training, the results are generally poor due to pain avoidance reactions. However a new dermal anesthesia technique previously used in humans, an eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine, made it possible to obtain blood samples from the ear veins of one male and two female white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) and five full-thickness skin punch biopsies and subsequent suturing on unrestrained rhinoceros. In all animals, the procedures elucidated neither limb withdrawal nor head shake and were regarded as painless.