Critically endangered black rhino calf born to orphaned poaching survivors
|Published
Durban — The first critically endangered black rhino calf was recently born at Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary to two orphaned poaching survivors.
That was according to Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary which shared the breaking news this week.
Care for Wild said: “Rescued and rehabilitated rhino orphan Phoebe has given birth to her first calf at Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary in South Africa.
“This is an extraordinary milestone in rhino conservation and a historic and emotional moment for Petronel (Nieuwoudt) and the Care for Wild team.”
Nieuwoudt is Care for Wild founder and chief executive.
The wildlife sanctuary said while the birth marks the 19th calf born at Care for Wild, it is the first black rhino calf born to two rehabilitated orphans of poaching.
Phoebe was rescued in 2017 after poachers killed her mother. She was taken to Care for Wild for extensive rehabilitation and care. Another black rhino orphan, Ratu, joined her in early 2018.
“After their rehabilitation, they entered a complex rewilding and reintroduction programme and have now welcomed their first calf.”
Care for Wild added that this year, the sanctuary celebrates 10 years of dedicated rhino conservation — 10 years of immense effort, passion, resilience, hard work and determination.
“Witnessing this tiny, critically endangered black rhino calf safe with his mom and dad is incredibly exciting and so unbelievably humbling. What a privilege and a blessing,” Care for Wild said.
The sanctuary also thanked its supporters for standing beside them on their journey.
Meanwhile, last month Care for Wild received a call from the Kruger National Park about a young black rhino orphan, estimated to be around 3 months old.
The orphan was stabilised in the Intensive Care Unit. Later she started to drink well and was fed every two to three hours.
Towards the end of August, the orphan was introduced to Care for Wild’s resident black rhino calf expert, Caregiver Lucas, who has worked with multiple black rhinos previously and was instrumental in raising a small black rhino calf called Swazi, who has since been rewilded and released. He has a magical way with these little calves.
Within two weeks, the orphan, later named RiRi, was kicking up dust.
“Caregiver Lucas couldn’t help but smile as he watched RiRi run laps, gallop, and build her muscles, burning off her early morning energy!” Care for Wild said.
She has started to eat natural browse. Her favourite is the spike thorn.
“This is an incredibly important step in rehabilitation as well as her development. Black rhinos learn browsing behaviour from their mothers so this is a monumental milestone for this critically endangered calf.
“Little RiRi has quite the appetite! She is currently being fed 2l of milk every 3-4 hours as well as starting to nibble on fresh browse. As a growing rhino calf of just 3.5 months old, her milk will continue to increase as she gets bigger. Regular weighing helps us to accurately determine how much milk she needs. RiRi will continue to drink milk until around 16-17 months old!”
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