--- description: A rhino who was attacked by poachers last year underwent facial reconstruction surgery in early May, and has been on the mend ever since. title: A South African Rhino Underwent Facial Reconstruction Surgery image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61cdffac670bd13a/69889351a988cafb376b7de1/hope-the-rhino-surgery-face-horn.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A South African Rhino Underwent Facial Reconstruction Surgery  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 16, 2016 5:35 PM CUT  Hope the Rhino's face is bandaged after a surgical operation in Limpopo, South Africa on May 3, 2016. Hope the Rhino's face is bandaged after a surgical operation in Limpopo, South Africa on May 3, 2016.The Times—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 16, 2016 5:35 PM CUT A rhino who was attacked by poachers last year [underwent](https://time.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4337289&action=edit "undefined") facial reconstruction surgery in early May, and has been on the mend since the successful procedure. After poachers sedated Hope, the rhino, and hacked off her horn and part of her skull, a group of wildlife veterans used human abdominal surgery techniques to [stretch skin](http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/limpopo/hope-the-rhino-gets-pioneering-surgery-2016770 "undefined") over her wound on May, _USA Today_ reports. [Sixty percent](http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/groundbreaking-facial-surgery-for-rhino-hope-2017009 "undefined") of her face has healed through the other five major surgeries she had since the attack. The surgery earlier this month lasted over an hour. \[[_USA_](https://time.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4337289&action=edit "undefined")[ _Today_](https://time.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4337289&action=edit "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4337289/rhino-facial-surgery/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4337289/rhino-facial-surgery/"},"headline":"A South African Rhino Underwent Facial Reconstruction Surgery","datePublished":"2016-05-16T17:35:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:34:31.460Z","description":"Poachers had destroyed Hope the white rhino's skull by hacking off her horn","url":"https://time.com/4337289/rhino-facial-surgery/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61cdffac670bd13a/69889351a988cafb376b7de1/hope-the-rhino-surgery-face-horn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61cdffac670bd13a/69889351a988cafb376b7de1/hope-the-rhino-surgery-face-horn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"hope the rhino surgery face horn","caption":"Hope the Rhino's face is bandaged after a surgical operation in Limpopo, South Africa on May 3, 2016.","creditText":"The Times—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4337289/rhino-facial-surgery/","name":"A South African Rhino Underwent Facial Reconstruction Surgery"}}]}] ```