TonyP
New member
A video of Emma & Molly getting some of their daily attention
https://youtu.be/fR2DDOa8mrI
https://youtu.be/fR2DDOa8mrI
Arthur the brave
- Thread starter TonyP
- Start date
TonyP
New member
We weigh all our baby rhinos at least once a month to get an indication of their state of health and happiness. The scale is a platform on the ground, similar to a mini weighbridge.
Have you ever thought how we get these youngsters onto the scale and then to stand still.
Arthur agreed to assist us by demonstrating how it's done. :thumb:
Check out this video: https://youtu.be/OBxsobfzy-4
Have you ever thought how we get these youngsters onto the scale and then to stand still.
Arthur agreed to assist us by demonstrating how it's done. :thumb:
Check out this video: https://youtu.be/OBxsobfzy-4
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JKbrick
Active Member
Wow so he’s gone from 80kg to 180kg in your sanctuary? Great work
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TonyP
New member
Heartbreaking News, sadly we can't win everytime, but how we all wish we could.
ACACIA'S STORY
It is believed that Acacia’s mother was killed by poachers three and a half weeks before he was rescued.
On 21st March 2019 two female rhinos were killed on the Timbavati / Kruger National Park border.
Next to the poached rhinos, an older calf’s tracks were found. Rangers continued to look for signs of the calf for the next three and a half weeks, as hope faded each day.
Andreas Liebenberg who has experience in tracking lost children, picked up the tracks of the calf. He said that the tracks of this lost calf followed a similar pattern to that of a lost child. The lost calf's tracks are very different compared to the tracks of a mother and calf, which clearly shows that there is a confidence in the pace and direction that the mother and calf travels; the mother has a plan of where she is going however with this calf had no clear direction or plan, he was just trying to survive. He was lost, alone and badly injured.
On Thursday 11th April 2019, just before nightfall, the calf was located. Wildlife veterinarian, Joel Alves, sedated the calf and treated the tail injury. With the night fast approaching, concerns were raised about keeping the calf sedated for too long. A VHF tracking collar was fitted to the orphaned rhino. The decision was made to release the calf back into the area and find him again in 48 hours time.
An urgent request for help came in to Care for Wild. At 3:30am on Saturday 13th April 2019, Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary staff began their journey to the Timbavati Game Reserve.
On arrival, a spotter plane was launched in the last known location of the calf to establish a visual sighting. With no success, the helicopter was then sent up along with the tracking equipment. A signal was picked up and the aircraft began scanning the area again. The calf was eventually sighted under the protection of a tree. The calf had remained in this area for some time, likely utilizing the river close by for water as well as the protection of the Acacia trees, from which his name comes.
Acacia was sedated and loaded for transportation to the safety of the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary. He was in poor condition and quite dehydrated. The Care for Wild staff stopped throughout the journey to monitor him and change IV fluid bags.
On arrival at Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary, veterinarian Dr Ferreira du Plessis met the team to admit the calf and assess the injuries to his tail. The tail had been bitten off right down to the base by hyena with a piece of bone protruding. The injured tail was cleaned and dressed. The protruding bone was amputated to try to prevent infection up the spine. Medical treatments and wound dressing changes continued bi-weekly under the guidance of the veterinarian, hoping for the best outcome.
Acacia weighed 468kg and his age was estimated to be between 18-24 months.
Acacia spent his nights in a warm night pen where he found comfort. After a few days of monitoring Acacia, it was noted that he was not very active, which may be indicative of many underlying issues.
It was decided to introduce Acacia to two of the friendly resident orphaned rhinos, Leo and Faye, for support. This seemed to have improved Acacia's condition a bit, but he was still struggling.
Despite all the signs indicating Acacia's progress, the long-term trauma experienced by this young orphan was unimaginable.
Sadly, Acacia passed away on Friday night, 3rd of May 2019.
Dearest Acacia, this song, by Richard Marx, is dedicated to your memory:
"Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
I will be right here waiting for you.
Whatever it takes,
Or how my heart breaks,
I will be right here waiting for you.
I took for granted, all the times,
That I thought would last somehow.
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears,
But I can't get near you now."
We will miss you. Your place here at Care for Wild will always be empty.
May You Rest In Peace.
ACACIA'S STORY
It is believed that Acacia’s mother was killed by poachers three and a half weeks before he was rescued.
On 21st March 2019 two female rhinos were killed on the Timbavati / Kruger National Park border.
Next to the poached rhinos, an older calf’s tracks were found. Rangers continued to look for signs of the calf for the next three and a half weeks, as hope faded each day.
Andreas Liebenberg who has experience in tracking lost children, picked up the tracks of the calf. He said that the tracks of this lost calf followed a similar pattern to that of a lost child. The lost calf's tracks are very different compared to the tracks of a mother and calf, which clearly shows that there is a confidence in the pace and direction that the mother and calf travels; the mother has a plan of where she is going however with this calf had no clear direction or plan, he was just trying to survive. He was lost, alone and badly injured.
On Thursday 11th April 2019, just before nightfall, the calf was located. Wildlife veterinarian, Joel Alves, sedated the calf and treated the tail injury. With the night fast approaching, concerns were raised about keeping the calf sedated for too long. A VHF tracking collar was fitted to the orphaned rhino. The decision was made to release the calf back into the area and find him again in 48 hours time.
An urgent request for help came in to Care for Wild. At 3:30am on Saturday 13th April 2019, Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary staff began their journey to the Timbavati Game Reserve.
On arrival, a spotter plane was launched in the last known location of the calf to establish a visual sighting. With no success, the helicopter was then sent up along with the tracking equipment. A signal was picked up and the aircraft began scanning the area again. The calf was eventually sighted under the protection of a tree. The calf had remained in this area for some time, likely utilizing the river close by for water as well as the protection of the Acacia trees, from which his name comes.
Acacia was sedated and loaded for transportation to the safety of the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary. He was in poor condition and quite dehydrated. The Care for Wild staff stopped throughout the journey to monitor him and change IV fluid bags.
On arrival at Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary, veterinarian Dr Ferreira du Plessis met the team to admit the calf and assess the injuries to his tail. The tail had been bitten off right down to the base by hyena with a piece of bone protruding. The injured tail was cleaned and dressed. The protruding bone was amputated to try to prevent infection up the spine. Medical treatments and wound dressing changes continued bi-weekly under the guidance of the veterinarian, hoping for the best outcome.
Acacia weighed 468kg and his age was estimated to be between 18-24 months.
Acacia spent his nights in a warm night pen where he found comfort. After a few days of monitoring Acacia, it was noted that he was not very active, which may be indicative of many underlying issues.
It was decided to introduce Acacia to two of the friendly resident orphaned rhinos, Leo and Faye, for support. This seemed to have improved Acacia's condition a bit, but he was still struggling.
Despite all the signs indicating Acacia's progress, the long-term trauma experienced by this young orphan was unimaginable.
Sadly, Acacia passed away on Friday night, 3rd of May 2019.
Dearest Acacia, this song, by Richard Marx, is dedicated to your memory:
"Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
I will be right here waiting for you.
Whatever it takes,
Or how my heart breaks,
I will be right here waiting for you.
I took for granted, all the times,
That I thought would last somehow.
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears,
But I can't get near you now."
We will miss you. Your place here at Care for Wild will always be empty.
May You Rest In Peace.
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JKbrick
Active Member
So sorry to all of you for your loss, you did all you could do I’m sure
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
TonyP
New member
Sad news indeed, young Acacia was badly injured by Hyena and I suspect that because of the time spent on his own, he was in bad shape and unable to recover, no matter what his care givers and medical personnel did. This is the heartbreaking side of what Care for Wild does. As much as we all hate these outcomes we have to keep fighting on the little ones' behalves.
Having said all of that we have some good news as well.
On Thursday we got a call to retrieve a 2 month old little black rhino orphan. She is thankfully in good shape, except for being a little underweight. As yet she has not been named but is receiving good care and a double share of milk.
Having said all of that we have some good news as well.
On Thursday we got a call to retrieve a 2 month old little black rhino orphan. She is thankfully in good shape, except for being a little underweight. As yet she has not been named but is receiving good care and a double share of milk.
JKbrick
Active Member
TonyP
New member
To give you guys an idea on the complexities of rehabilitating these young animals after their various traumatic experiences, let's take a look at little Ribbon, the smallest rhino at Care for Wild.
As said elsewhere in this thread, black rhino live in dense bush and feed by browsing leaves, on the other hand white rhino live predominantly on open plains and feed by grazing grass, hence their different shaped mouths.
One of the behavioral differences is that black rhino mothers run in front of their calves when startled simply to break a route through the bush, where as a white rhino mother runs behind her calf.
In Ribbon's case, we could not get her to have anything to do with any of the other rhino at Care for Wild. She simply would not socialize at all and kept all to her little self, pining for her Mum. We were at a loss of what to do to correct the situation as she was literally pining away.
As it turns out, poachers startled Ribbon and her Mom and the two set off running. Being white rhino, Ribbon was in front when the poachers murdered her mother with a running shot. Ribbon kept on running assuming her mother was behind her and she was rescued within a few hours quite a distance from her mother's mutilated body. She did not see it happen and has been waiting for her Mom to come and find her. There was no space in her little heart for other rhino.
Fortunately she has since bonded with a young male who goes by the name of Zircon. The two are inseparable and he chases any other rhino that gets too close to her. We suspect that his mother and Ribbon's mother were part of a loosely knit crush in the wild and that he is a link to her past for her. She still shows no interest in any other rhino, but seems to be accepting of the fact that her mother is gone and her health is slowly improving.
How these babies all creep into the hardest places of ones heart!!!
As said elsewhere in this thread, black rhino live in dense bush and feed by browsing leaves, on the other hand white rhino live predominantly on open plains and feed by grazing grass, hence their different shaped mouths.
One of the behavioral differences is that black rhino mothers run in front of their calves when startled simply to break a route through the bush, where as a white rhino mother runs behind her calf.
In Ribbon's case, we could not get her to have anything to do with any of the other rhino at Care for Wild. She simply would not socialize at all and kept all to her little self, pining for her Mum. We were at a loss of what to do to correct the situation as she was literally pining away.
As it turns out, poachers startled Ribbon and her Mom and the two set off running. Being white rhino, Ribbon was in front when the poachers murdered her mother with a running shot. Ribbon kept on running assuming her mother was behind her and she was rescued within a few hours quite a distance from her mother's mutilated body. She did not see it happen and has been waiting for her Mom to come and find her. There was no space in her little heart for other rhino.
Fortunately she has since bonded with a young male who goes by the name of Zircon. The two are inseparable and he chases any other rhino that gets too close to her. We suspect that his mother and Ribbon's mother were part of a loosely knit crush in the wild and that he is a link to her past for her. She still shows no interest in any other rhino, but seems to be accepting of the fact that her mother is gone and her health is slowly improving.
How these babies all creep into the hardest places of ones heart!!!
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Coop
Caught the Bug
Don’t know how you do what you do, but I truly applaud your dedication! With all the poachers, bandit kidnappers and dangerous wild animals, I don’t know, I would be carrying as much weaponry as medical supplies, probably inappropriate. Hopefully good people such as yourself are able to keep up your awesome effort. Stay safe and know you are appreciated!
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
TonyP
New member
It's not that bad Coop, when in the bush, the laws of nature apply, knowing them, being aware of your surroundings and respecting those laws make for a wonderful experience.
Poachers are another issue. They have become very aggressive and don't think twice about starting a gun fight with the authorities. Personally I'm not too worried about that, it takes the outcome out of the hands of the law and courts.
We do what we do for the love of the animals we share this planet with. Previously somebody mentioned fighting for the ones without a voice, we all have to be that voice.
The problems are not country specific, your voice in the good old US of A is just as much a weapon against ignorance and greed as our voice is here.
The Jeep'n wayalife is so closely related to what we do. We all love getting out there in our vehicles and enjoying the wild places, whether it be trails in Moab, the Canadian wilderness or the African bush, if we can't appreciate what man is doing to our wild animals, nobody can.
By participating in this thread you are supporting a just cause. All I am trying to do is to make people aware of the magnificence of these animals, giving you an insight into their lives and making them worthy in your eyes to fight for. All you have to do is spread the word.
Poachers are another issue. They have become very aggressive and don't think twice about starting a gun fight with the authorities. Personally I'm not too worried about that, it takes the outcome out of the hands of the law and courts.
We do what we do for the love of the animals we share this planet with. Previously somebody mentioned fighting for the ones without a voice, we all have to be that voice.
The problems are not country specific, your voice in the good old US of A is just as much a weapon against ignorance and greed as our voice is here.
The Jeep'n wayalife is so closely related to what we do. We all love getting out there in our vehicles and enjoying the wild places, whether it be trails in Moab, the Canadian wilderness or the African bush, if we can't appreciate what man is doing to our wild animals, nobody can.
By participating in this thread you are supporting a just cause. All I am trying to do is to make people aware of the magnificence of these animals, giving you an insight into their lives and making them worthy in your eyes to fight for. All you have to do is spread the word.
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TonyP
New member
Well, tomorrow is international Jeep topless day and the provincial branch of Jeep Club South Africa will be coming to the Sanctuary with their families.
I'm looking forward to hosting the troops and sincerely hope the day proves a once in a lifetime experience for them.
Sadly for security and what's good for the rhino reasons, we have had to limit the number of Jeeps to just 20, but there'll be other opportunities
I'll be posting some pics tomorrow night so watch this space.
I'm looking forward to hosting the troops and sincerely hope the day proves a once in a lifetime experience for them.
Sadly for security and what's good for the rhino reasons, we have had to limit the number of Jeeps to just 20, but there'll be other opportunities
I'll be posting some pics tomorrow night so watch this space.
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Brute
Hooked
Looking forward to seeing the pics...