Late yesterday, Steve and I were alerted to an injured rhino calf who was with his mom. Nikki, a guide at Mankwe Gametrackers, advised Steve of the calfs’ whereabouts and when we got there we noticed he was limping really badly.
Definitely a wound on his left front leg, but it was way too late to get a vet and chopper in. So this am we went looking for him, as did Michael in the Bathawk. We could not find mom or calf. We heard there were lions in a kill and were about to investigate but luckily heard it was a wildebeest and not this calf! As soon as vet Dr Gerhardus Scheepers was available he drove in, and pilot Dolph van der Merwe flew in with his chopper.
The search was on! Not too long into the search they found mom and calf. One can not conceive of the distance they had traveled. That little boytjie, with his sore leg and all, had gone kilometers from where we last saw them. The decision was made to dart both mom and calf so that they could wake up together rather than stress mom out while we did the necessary work. Once they were both immobilized we could properly check out the little calf. It appears to be bite marks on his outer and inner leg. Vet Gerhardus treated him and put him on a drip to give him some glucose, multi vitamins, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics to assist with his recovery.
After the wound was clean and the drip was completed, the little Rhino was taken to his mom for the wake up. The wake up went very well with both mom and calf waking up simultaneously! Not an easy feat! They walked off together and hopefully he will fully recover. We do not want to step in but as you all know rhinos are endangered and so every attempt is made to save them. As you can see from the wake up we have dehorned all our rhino in Pilanesberg.
Thank you Nikki for alerting us to the calf. Thanks to all the park visitors that showed their concern and interest in what was happening. Thank you everyone that assisted us today. Stay safe and recover well little one.
