A baby rhino who saw his mother brutally murdered by poachers is unable to sleep on his own now, relying on staff to keep him company at night.
Gertjie was rescued from the wild on May 7th after being found next to his mother’s body. Rescued by the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre in South Africa, he is now being slowly weaned off his night feeds and is building up his strength with daily walks.
Staff at the centre, who care for the conservation of rare, vulnerable or endangered animals, said the baby rhino did not want to leave his mother's side and was “crying inconsolably” before being sedated and transported to the HESC.
In a statement released shortly after discovering the rhino, a spokesperson for the HESC said:
"A three-month-old baby rhino, anticipated to have been born on or around the 19th of February, was brought to the HESC after being found next to his dead mother who had been tragically and brutally poached for her horn.
“It was a devastating sight, as the tiny animal would not leave her side, and was crying inconsolably for her.”
The baby rhino, known as ‘Little G’ by staff, spent his first night at the shelter with a human minder and a sheep called Skaap, who acts as the surrogate mother to animals there.
Staff have been taking it in turns to feed the animal every three hours, sleeping outside his room to ensure he is fed at regular intervals. Skaap also spends time in his room and "cleans up after him from time-to-time".
Staff say he will be cared for at HESC until he is ready to be reintroduced into a wildlife reserve.
