Meet our 6 orphaned white rhino calves: Thaba, Bula, Peter, Mango, Angie & newest arrival Eve. Apart from poaching incidents, other events have resulted in the loss of their mothers, including dying from injuries caused by other animals, old age, or reserve staff not being able to locate the mother after many attempts. These traumatised little ones needed to be taken in & given the love & care they so desperately needed. They’ll be released back into the wild when fully grown & rehabilitated.
All the calves are thriving at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, and surrogate mom Esmé most definitely has her work cut out for her. However, she takes it all in her stride and offers a gentle and wise presence to keep the calves happy.
In our previous report, we mentioned that Peter was down to his last daily milk feed and was due to be weaned by February. HESC guide Antoinette was on hand to give him this last feed, and she was especially sentimental about doing so as she was the one to give him his very first milk feed when he arrived. Peter has now gotten used to the idea of not having any more milk. He enjoys spending time with his “siblings” Thaba, Bula and Mango.
Angie and Eve are still in quarantine, and their gradual weaning process has also begun. Angie is now receiving 6 litres (1,58 gallons) of milk 3 times per day, while Eve is receiving 4,5 litres (1,18 gallons) of milk 5 times per day. Naturally, they whine when the bucket empties, but they need to go through this very important phase of their development. Clearly the milk is delicious.
Eve loves lucerne and is especially keen on her snack which is put out after her 3 pm milk feed.
Until our next report, please keep looking out for regular updates on our social media platforms.
