VAGINOSCOPIC IDENTIFICATION OF A VERTICAL VAGINAL SEPTUM IN ONE PRIMIPAROUS AND THREE NULLIPAROUS SOUTHERN WHITE RHINOCEROS ().

Vaginoscopy using a 10-mm, 30° forward viewing rigid endoscope was used to evaluate the caudal reproductive tract of four subadult southern white rhinoceros (). A vertical vaginal septum was documented in all four animals, including a primiparous cow that gave birth to a stillborn calf 14 months before vaginoscopy. Vaginoscopy using a 57-cm-long, 10-mm, 30° forward viewing endoscope provides adequate visualization of the caudal reproductive track in the southern white rhinoceros, and a detailed description of the vertical vaginal septum is presented. Additionally, the presence of a vertical vaginal septum in a primiparous southern white rhinoceros suggests the presence of this anatomic structure cannot be used as a proxy of nulliparity for captive southern white rhinoceros.