Written by: Liam Burrough
Recently while driving in the Kruger I stumbled across an eight-week old white rhino calf standing all alone in the road. Badly dehydrated, covered in wounds and clearly in desperate search of shade, the calf approached my car. She called out into emptiness, looked on for a moment, and then rested her chin on my door. Slumping onto her hindquarters and then onto her belly she caught a few moments of rest in our shadow.
She had undoubtedly lost her mother, at this tender age to a poacher. We sent another car to get help from a rangers station whilst we sat, giving the calf cooling showers with bottled water and more than anything, comfort and reassurance… remaining there until rangers arrived and a helicopter was on the way. The tragic irony in all of this being that the calf had approached the very creatures who are responsible for her being orphaned, in search of comfort.
The rhino is now under the care of a private rehab centre outside Nelspruit called Care For Wild Africa, she’s also started to take milk formula from the bottle which is a good sign but she’s not out of the critical zone yet.
With this said, it is our responsibility as humans to protect these animals. The bastards fueling this ridiculous trade have to be stopped. As a continent we need to let these lower forms of human life know that we will not stand for the senseless slaughter of our wildlife.
Change begins with you, so get off of your ass and do something! Write angry letters, donate as much money as you can to fund guns, dogs, equipment and salaries for the hands we so badly need to stop these gentle giants from disappearing. I won’t be participating in the ice bucket challenge but I will be donating a percentage of my salary every month to a rhino charity in the area starting now. Extinction is forever and it’s coming for Africa’s rhinos, together we can stop it.
To comment on this story: To protect you against trolls & misinformation, we only permit comments in our app. See how to DOWNLOAD OUR APP below.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC:
- Download our APP (mobile phone & desktop) to receive travel discounts, comment on our stories, make safe donations and network with others like you. Find out more here.
- Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our best stories in your inbox weekly and for travel discounts. Subscribe here.
- Travel with us. Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early / late and a few kilometres off course and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity? Search for your ideal safari here, or contact an Africa Geographic safari consultant to plan your dream vacation.
