The Care for Wild rhino sanctuary located in Sonpark, South Africa recently welcomed a new rhino calf after she was rejected by her mother. With rhino being such an endangered species, the sanctuary is doing its best to protect them, and that includes this abandoned little girl.

Animal sanctuary worker serenades baby rhino to sleep

The video was posted to YouTube by the Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary (CFW) recently to show how well the female rhino calf is doing in their care. As for the new baby herself, she has made a definite connection with one of the animal sanctuary workers, who decided to serenade her to sleep with his guitar.

The video has received a wide range of messages and support for the new calf and her caregivers.

Rhino calf is doing well and improving each day

In a statement, the sanctuary said that the baby rhino is doing well and is continuing to improve every day. Petronel Nieuwoudt and her caregivers at Care for Wild Rhinos went on to thank all their supporters for the well wishes relating to the new rhino calf at their orphanage in Sonpark, South Africa.

As reported by The South African, the statement went on to explain that the rhino calf had been born on the afternoon of June 19 and staff quickly noticed that her mother was not allowing her calf to drink milk.

Veterinarians initially advised the sanctuary to monitor the mother and her new calf throughout the night to see if the mother would let her calf drink. However, the sanctuary went on to say that it was clear by morning that the mother had rejected her new rhino calf and that human intervention was urgently needed for the calf to survive.

Nieuwoudt, the founder and owner of the animal sanctuary was immediately called in and an emergency rescue plan was put into place. A helicopter was employed to transport veterinarian Dr.

Ferreira, and Dorota, a CFW staff member, out to the reserve where the mother rhino and calf were located. The veterinarian sedated the mother and milked her so her new calf would have the benefit of her mother’s colostrum. This is the first milk provided by a rhino cow to its newborn and is full of antibodies to give the calf a disease specific immunity, until their own immune system kicks in. They then moved the rhino calf to their facility.

Rhinos are an endangered species

As reported by the International Business Times, at the start of the 20th century, there were around half a million rhinos living across Africa and Asia. Nowadays there are only around 29,000, although with conservation practices and anti-poaching efforts in place the numbers are gradually increasing.

Education is one of the major aspects of the animals' protection.

The biggest threat to these beautiful lumbering animals is the human value of their horns. Poachers regularly kill or maim rhinos for their horns, which are believed to have medicinal value in Asia. However, another threat against the rhinos’ existence is habitat loss, as the human population grows and clears land for settlement and agricultural production.

In the meantime, we can all enjoy the cute new rhino calf and her trusty friend, serenading her gently to sleep.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED