A rhino orphan, who has since been named Mpho, was found a few days ago on a private reserve and at just a few days old, she is already showing she is a fighter.
Undisclosed Location, South Africa (15 June 2023) – News broke this week, the 12th of June 2023, that an orphaned rhino, just a few days old, had been found and was in transit to The Rhino Orphanage. According to the team, she was found on a private game reserve and a search was underway for her mother.
She had been following a Rhino cow and an older calf but it was clear to the rangers that something wasn’t right. The young calf’s mother was nowhere in sight.
They managed to get her to the orphanage and give her much-needed colostrum and electrolytes. She willingly took the bottle as she was severely dehydrated. She was estimated at just a few days old because her feet are still soft and her umbilical cord was still attached.
They got her onto a drip to speed up her rehydration and while she has shown to be feisty, her blindfold was removed too.
“We can’t even begin to explain how little she is. Her feet are still soft and her umbilical cord still attached. The Team will slowly introduce the milk replacer into her diet over the next few hours.” – The Rhino Orphanage
The next day, the team from her reserve named her Mpho which means “Gift” in Setswana. It is now a waiting game to see how her health plays out over the next few days.
“Our little princess is getting stronger and bolder and her personality is starting to show. She is a spicy baby 🦏 and we absolutely love her. She has finished bottle after bottle and gets very persistent in between.
There is still no news on her mom or what had happened to her. Her home reserve team and our vet has named her Mpho, which means “Gift” in Setswana.
Our carers are now patiently waiting to see how her gut adapts to milk formula and if she, like so many other stressed and traumatised orphans, had ingested mud or sand.”
At the moment, The Rhino Orphanage is updating about her daily so if you would like to stay up-to-date, you can follow along on Facebook here.
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