In 1991, Brian Jones was part of starting the Moholoholo Rehab Centre when he saw something had to be done for the ever-growing number of wildlife who were wounded, neglected or poisoned. His vision was to care for these animals until they were strong and healthy enough to go back into the wild. The centre's first patient was a little zebra no more than a day old. Since then, Moholoholo has not only rescued countless animals and birds from death, but it has even started breeding programs to salvage many endangered species including the crowned eagle.
When a white rhino needs to be brought into the centre, Brian Jones is usually leading the team. White rhinos happen to be the second biggest of all mammals. Only the elephant is larger than this huge animal that can weigh up to two tons and whose back stands as tall as the average man. The white rhino is one out of five endangered species of rhino; at one time there were about thirty. Regardless of what its size may imply, the white rhinoceros is surprisingly said to be the calmest and most relaxed of all the types of rhino, but it still wouldn't be wise to put this to the test.
Early in 2012, Moholoholo received a call from a game park about an hour away saying there was a baby white rhino that seemed to have been abandoned by her mother. Upon arriving, Brian and the rest of the staff found the rhino to be not quite a day old and generally healthy in her appearance. The only thing that was different was her feet which seemed to be slightly malformed.
Usually, if a mother rhino abandons her baby, it's because she knows somehow there is something severely wrong with the little one's health. However the team soon found out the mother had recently been taken from her home in the wild and moved, and this can cause such intense stress that she gives birth prematurely. Finding out the little one's abandonment was due to the mother's capture stress put the staff at ease that no major health problems surrounded the little one. Also the premature birth is the most likely cause of a baby rhino's feet deformity.
Upon reaching this baby female, the staff immediately offered her some milk since her mother hadn't been up to feeding her. She showed no hesitation in satisfying her hunger and surprisingly remained calm - even with all the staff members surrounding her. Another sign of health the staff had to be sure of was that the baby female was passing waste regularly and easily. After seeing this was the case, she charmed each staff member by making herself at home in their presence which is not normal behavior for baby rhinos.
Caring for a baby rhino can be just as exhausting as caring for a baby human if there is not a team in place. The Moholoholo team had to make sure she was eating every two hours and protect her from sucking on anything filthy that could harm her delicate system. They even had to take constant urine samples to make sure she was being properly nourished - since she had been denied her mother's milk. Forty-six kilograms may seem like a huge baby, but when one learns that a rhino weighs at least five hundred kilograms by the time it reaches two years, it's no wonder a baby rhino has to eat at two hour intervals. Although it's an extremely demanding task to take care of this little rhino, the Moholoholo team is overjoyed at her arrival and is still trying to find a name to suit her best.
When a white rhino needs to be brought into the centre, Brian Jones is usually leading the team. White rhinos happen to be the second biggest of all mammals. Only the elephant is larger than this huge animal that can weigh up to two tons and whose back stands as tall as the average man. The white rhino is one out of five endangered species of rhino; at one time there were about thirty. Regardless of what its size may imply, the white rhinoceros is surprisingly said to be the calmest and most relaxed of all the types of rhino, but it still wouldn't be wise to put this to the test.
Early in 2012, Moholoholo received a call from a game park about an hour away saying there was a baby white rhino that seemed to have been abandoned by her mother. Upon arriving, Brian and the rest of the staff found the rhino to be not quite a day old and generally healthy in her appearance. The only thing that was different was her feet which seemed to be slightly malformed.
Usually, if a mother rhino abandons her baby, it's because she knows somehow there is something severely wrong with the little one's health. However the team soon found out the mother had recently been taken from her home in the wild and moved, and this can cause such intense stress that she gives birth prematurely. Finding out the little one's abandonment was due to the mother's capture stress put the staff at ease that no major health problems surrounded the little one. Also the premature birth is the most likely cause of a baby rhino's feet deformity.
Upon reaching this baby female, the staff immediately offered her some milk since her mother hadn't been up to feeding her. She showed no hesitation in satisfying her hunger and surprisingly remained calm - even with all the staff members surrounding her. Another sign of health the staff had to be sure of was that the baby female was passing waste regularly and easily. After seeing this was the case, she charmed each staff member by making herself at home in their presence which is not normal behavior for baby rhinos.
Caring for a baby rhino can be just as exhausting as caring for a baby human if there is not a team in place. The Moholoholo team had to make sure she was eating every two hours and protect her from sucking on anything filthy that could harm her delicate system. They even had to take constant urine samples to make sure she was being properly nourished - since she had been denied her mother's milk. Forty-six kilograms may seem like a huge baby, but when one learns that a rhino weighs at least five hundred kilograms by the time it reaches two years, it's no wonder a baby rhino has to eat at two hour intervals. Although it's an extremely demanding task to take care of this little rhino, the Moholoholo team is overjoyed at her arrival and is still trying to find a name to suit her best.
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Learn more about animal rehabilitation in South Africa. Stop by Moholoholo's site where you can find out all about abandoned and injured wild animals taken care of at Moholoholo Animal Rehabilitation Centre.
