WATCH Brave Rhino Orphan Play as he Heals from Machete Attack

Thanks to the awesome team at a rhino sanctuary in South Africa, there’s a one-month-old rhino orphan whose wellbeing is steadily improving… although he does still call very softly in the night for his mom.

Watch brave little Arthur below as he playfights with his favourite toy, a tyre. “His wounds and his soul are healing,” says Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary; and at night when he calls out for his mother, “he is comforted by his caretakers and his warm bottles of milk… and soon settles down to sleep”.

Care for Wild says: “He is a small but confident little rhino, and we can already tell he is going to be a strong and cheeky bull! He loves his time in the sun, and is starting to show his playful side…

“Although we are still concerned about the wound to his foot, he is walking well and has his dressings changed regularly to prevent infection that could cause long term damage.

“We are so proud of this little fighter.”

Arthur suffered severe injuries to his back and right foot, during a poaching incident in the Skukuza section of the Kruger National Park, in the early hours of Sunday, 20 May 2018. His mother, a white rhino cow, was shot and killed and both her horns removed.

“It was instinctive for him to try and stay close to his mother to protect her, and the poachers with no sympathy or hesitation whatsoever lashed out at him [with a machete] so that they could finish their heinous crime of taking his mother’s horn as quickly as possible,” says Care for Wild.

WATCH Brave Little Arthur play-fighting with his favourite ‘toy’

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Fortunately the small, but dedicated, team at Care for Wild are on 24/7 standby to receive a rhino calf… so they were able to immediately take care of little Arthur, who weighed in at just 80 kg.

The little calf wasn’t dehydrated because he had drunk from his mother that same morning, before she was killed. He is now being fed by bottle, one litre of milk every two hours.

The deep wound on Arthur’s back has been stitched, and he is on antibiotics and vitamin injections.

“He has been given the regal and brave name of Arthur, a name that suits his determination and spirit to survive. He still calls for his mother, it is a heart wrenching sound and one that he should never have to make. Her death will affect him emotionally long after his physical wounds have healed. A rhino calf stays with his mother for up to three years and in that time, she teaches him everything he needs to know… Who is going to teach him now?”

Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary is located in Mpumalanga and is the largest rhino sanctuary and orphanage in the world. Founded by Petronel Nieuwoudt, its mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and release as many rhinos as they can, so they can save both black and white rhino populations from extinction.

“The poaching epidemic of rhino and other species is not a problem just for Africa. It is up to all of us as there are so many countries involved in one way or another. It is not false information to say that we could be looking at the extinction of many species within the next 50 years. The rhino could possibly be gone from the wild within 20, if we do not take urgent action together.

“If you can, please make a donation to help us to save more rhino orphans. Taxation benefits in South Africa and the United States are available. Let’s do this together.”

If you would like to adopt Arthur, please contact dot@careforwild.co.za

Or donate here: www.careforwild.co.za/donate

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