We have been keeping you up-to-date on the progress of Don, our adopted rhino orphan who is being kept at a rehabilitation sanctuary in Mpumalanga. There are 25 rhinos at the sanctuary and our readers have asked if we would share some more of the stories. So, without further ado, here’s the scoop on a beautiful white rhino called Venus.
The rhino’s story begins…
In November 2014, a four-month-old female white rhino calf arrived at Care for Wild AFRICA rehabilitation centre in Mpumalanga. The calf’s mother had been poached and – in the week that followed – she herself had sustained a terrible wound to her front right foot.
The calf was infested with ticks and was suffering from abscesses. “Rhinos are highly sensitive animals and – as you can imagine – rhinos arriving at our sanctuary have just been through an ordeal that pushes them to their limits,” explains Edyta Wozna of Care for Wild. “Not only do they witness the brutal killing of their mother, but they are then left to fend for themselves in the wild until they are found, which can be many days.”
The exhausted calf arrived at Care for Wild in the early evening and the centre’s founder, Petronel Nieuwoudt, remembered seeing Venus shining brightly on the horizon as the rescue team brought her in. Later that night, as she was lying by the calf’s side, Petronel decided that this little one was going to be called “Venus.”
“It was at 11 pm on that first night that I first noticed the foot wound,” says Petronel. “I was comforting Venus and talking to her softly and, in a way that not many people will understand, I was ‘holding her hand.’ That’s when I found the gash and we started treatment immediately.”
It has been almost a year after the precarious first few days that Venus arrived at Care for Wild, and this beautiful animal is well on her way to a full recovery, in spite of her foot.
It is thought the wound was sustained shortly after Venus’ mother was killed. Terrified, the little orphan went crashing through the bush, and likely caught her foot on a fallen branch or the debris of a thorn tree.
To protect the gash from becoming infected, special boots were made for Venus. This meant that she couldn’t join in when her fellow orphans were enjoying mud baths, but, according to her caregivers, Venus has always been one of the centre’s sweetest rhinos – mud or not, she’s happy as long as she’s with a group of her fellow rhinos.
In May this year the boot came off, but recently Petronel and her team of vets noticed that Venus’ walk still looked slightly off. An x-ray showed that there was a small infection in the front toe. The team has since treated Venus with a tourniquet and localised antibiotics and she is due for another x-ray soon. “She’s walking like a champion again, so we are expecting good news,” reports Petronel.
Our fight for rhinos
Each of the orphans at this centre has a story. Whether its Wynter, whose ears were torn off by hyenas in the week after her mother was poached, or Don, whose heart stopped in the helicopter as rescuers tried to save him from severe dehydration, malnutrition and post-traumatic shock.
Some people might say: “What’s the point? This battle is futile.”
To that we answer that, one day, Venus may mother her own calves. And those calves will be the animals that rebuild the rhino population in our country’s wild places. More important than that – our rhinos do not deserve to suffer these harrowing ordeals and our team is proud to be able to partner with an organisation like Care for Wild that rescues orphans and gives them a second chance.
Are you interested in adopting an orphaned rhino?
Venus has already been adopted, but there are ten more rhinos at the Care for Wild sanctuary that need your help – they are looking to be adopted. The cost is $1100 per month, covering all maintenance costs relating to food, shelter and medication as well as state-of-the-art security. For more information, contact us here.