Arthur the brave

TonyP

New member
In my "wave" thread, I mentioned that I was a trustee at a rhino orphanage where we save baby rhino when their mothers have been poached. Here is a story about Arthur, one of the latest additions to the family.
I thought it might be of interest to some of you.

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ARTHUR, THE BRAVE

THE STORY OF ARTHUR,
THE ORPHANED WHITE RHINO

The old saying that it takes a village to raise a child is one that we can relate to, except that in this case, the child is a rhino calf, orphaned by poaching. This is a story that will take you from the depths of despair to a place of hope. Some of it is not an easy read but if you read it to the end your faith in humanity will be restored. In this story you will learn more about an organisation that is dedicated to saving orphaned rhinos; that organisation is called Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary.

In the early hours of Sunday, the 20th May, the SANParks Section Ranger received a radio call from field rangers alerting him that a gunshot had been heard in the Skukuza section of the Kruger National Park. Helicopter support was deployed and soon after a deceased white rhino cow with a live calf was located. Both horns had been removed from the cow and the calf had serious injuries to his back and right foot. Veterinarian Peter Buss stabilized the calf before it was transported by helicopter to Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary.

At approximately 12:50 Care for Wild received notice that an injured calf was being airlifted to them and that they should be ready within ten minutes.

They were.



The small yet dedicated team at Care for Wild are on standby 24/7 and have strict protocols and procedures in place so that they are always ready to receive a rhino calf. It is imperative that the team can focus on the animal without adding to the enormous stress and fear it is already under.

This particular calf weighed in at just 80 kilograms. He was not dehydrated as he had drunk from his mother that same morning before she was killed. As he was still sedated, his wounds which were caused by a machete, were scrubbed cleaned and bandaged.

He had a cut to his right front toenail which split the nail down to the nail-bed, and a 4-inch gash on his back that cut through cartilage very close to his spine. 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 so that they could finish their heinous crime of taking his mother’s horn as quickly as possible.
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Petronel Nieuwoudt, the Founder of Care for Wild, put in an urgent call to Dr. Nolene du Plessis, (Plastic Surgeon) and explained the situation. Dr. du Plessis came out to the sanctuary immediately to stitch the deep wound in his back closed. Staff are keeping a close eye on the wounds and baby is receiving antibiotics and vitamin injections to keep him as healthy as possible.

Just hours after his arrival and while still on the drip, he took his first bottle of milk! The jubilation felt by the staff was indescribable as this is a huge step in the extensive rehabilitation process. Since that first feed he has been fed 1 litre of milk every 2 hours. He is still being given pain killers and his temperature is taken on regular basis. The care that he is under means that the devoted staff are on duty for more hours per day than they sleep because this little one is not the only orphan they have to care for.

In the days since his rescue his blindfold has been removed and he has once again felt the warm African sunshine on his skin. 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, from what to eat and how to keep himself safe. She will teach him how to behave when in the company of other rhino and he will learn everything necessary from her so that he has a good chance of growing into a strong adult. Who is going to teach him now?


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.

Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary is the largest rhino sanctuary and orphanage in the world and it is the designated treatment and rehabilitation centre for orphaned rhino coming from the Kruger National Park, the source of the world’s largest remaining rhino population.

Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary has one mission; to save the rhino species from extinction.
 

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PatyWagon

New member
What a handsome boy, such great and wonderful work you all do. Bless you for carrying for those who have no voice!! Thank you for sharing and look forward to Arthur's journey!!

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MKBCE

New member
That's awesome and amazing work done by kind and caring individuals ! Thanks goes out to you and all the other people involved. Some people don't get it ...but we have to speak loudly for the Wild Places and as PatyWagon mentioned those who have no voice. Bless you and everyone that helps the ones that need it !


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VeruGE*144

Caught the Bug
That’s sad....
Great work you guys are doing, good to know there is some caring people left in this world.
 

DWiggles

Caught the Bug
Sad this happens...

But good on you, and the team at care for wild rhino sanctuary for caring and being there for this little guy!

My sister is a keeper at an endangered animal sanctuary as well. it's sad that we have to protect them from ourselves, but none the less, I'm always glad to see there are still good hearted, kind people in the world!



sent from SPACE!
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DWiggles

Caught the Bug
Had to go hunt for some pics, Here is one with "Rowdy"

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Always proud to say, she works hard to help save these guys, and many other breads/species every day!

You guys, and animal sanctuaries around the world are truly heros!

sent from SPACE!
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TonyP

New member
Good on your sister mate, please give her our thanks for the work she is doing.
Rowdy looks to be a big and strong individual. Are there any other white rhino at that sanctuary?

By the way, a bit of trivial information for you all. Although we call the two species of rhino white and black, the difference has nothing to do with their color.
White rhino are also known as square lipped rhino simply because they have broad flat lips. The white rhino grazes grass for their food source and the flat shape of their mouth enables them to do this. They are the larger of the two species and are usually found in small loose groups of between 5 and 8 adults. Being fairly social, they are a lot more docile than the black Rhino, although docile is not an accurate term. Because of their eating habits (grazing) they are normally found in open grasslands.

The black rhino has a pointed top lip, much like the tip of an elephant's trunk. They are browsers and eat leaves on trees and their prehensile top lip enables them to grab the leaves. Black rhino are solitary animals and are found in dense bush. Watch out for these guys, they are cantankerous and will challenge anyone or anything in their vicinity. Black rhino are much more endangered than their white counterparts mainly because being anti-social, they breed at a lower rate.

Here is a pic of some of our white rhino coming home to the bomas after a day in the open. You can see the broad flat mouths
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And a pic of two of our black rhino, Badger and Phoebe munching on leaves with their pointy mouths
 

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TonyP

New member
A quick update on Arthur for those who are interested.
He is coming along nicely, although a bit of infection was discovered in the wound on his front foot. He is being well looked after with regular dressing changes and is still on a course of antibiotics. We are happy that he now has the chance to grow into a big healthy bull, despite his sad start to life. Make no mistake that everyone at the sanctuary is doing their best to ensure that with much love and attention he won't be a man-hater.
His name is very appropriate and he is a strong-willed little guy. At his very young age, he attempted to protect his mother from the poachers and even after they inflicted the terrible wounds, he lay there in the bush next to her dead body until he was found by the rangers. He deserves a happy and healthy life in the future.
Once his wounds have healed up completely, he will be introduced to a group of youngsters of his same age who will become his family.

Here is a picture of Arthur at the sanctuary receiving a visit by some members of one of our local professional Rugby teams. We're rooting for you Arthur.
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Coop

Caught the Bug
So glad there are those like you who are able to intervene in these orphans lives to make the best of their circumstances. Thank you!


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TonyP

New member
:cheesy::cheesy: we use a lot of the old gray/silver stand by stuff, Brute. It works for anything.

Thanks for the comments guys, but please understand that what I do is done on my part for the love of the wild places and it's animals. I get massive rewards from just being able to be with these magnificent creatures and seeing them develop from terrified, traumatized, normally badly injured and sick little things, into big, strong, robust and dangerous juggernauts.
The thrill of releasing them back into the wild when the time is right is all the reward I need.
 

TonyP

New member
Young Arthur is doing very well, but is a little lonely. Until his wounds have healed completely we need to separate him from the other boisterous youngsters. He has one of the helpers with him for most of the day but he's pining for his own kind.
Here are a few pics from last weekend
 

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