Esme, the Rescued Rhino at HESC

 Esme, the Rescued Rhino at HESC. – Report – December 2018

It is hard to believe we are in December already. And although Esme has been in our care since October 2017, just over a year now, it actually feels like she has been part of our family forever.

We are happy to report that Esme is in excellent condition, and showing a clean bill of health. A far cry from the skinny, malnourished rhino calf that suffered from a horrific skin condition, that would have led to her imminent death, had we not intervened. None of which could have been possible without the financial support that this Global Giving project has brought, and YOUR kind donation.

A glance at a current day in the life of Esme:

Esme is currently only on two bottles (or rather buckets) of milk a day since the beginning of December one in the morning and one in the evening. 

After the morning bottle, she leaves her Boma area and roams the HESC grounds with Mielie (her BFF who is a sheep) always by her side. She is eating a lot of roughage in at the moment and has an excellent appetite.

November started off strangely cold for that time of the year, but then a heatwave hit us, and it has been very hot ever since. Fortunately, last week, we received very welcome rains, and now we are happy to see fresh, green grass appearing everywhere, this is an obvious delight for Esme and Mielie. 

“Kom kom” dam at HESC, is now full of water now with the recent rains, and she is frequently taken there for a nice wallow in the mud, which is her favourite thing to do.

Towards the end of the day, we locate Esme and Mielie, and bring them back to their Boma for their night’s rest. They follow easily, knowing that a nice heap of fresh lucerne and hay awaits them, as well as Esme’s second bottle of the day.

From here they rest, and sleep in one another’s trusted company.

Other news:

Recently David, the Anatolian Shepherd, who was her first friend at HESC, was re-introduced to Esme and Mielie (her sheep friend), and at first it was a bit strained, as David was too rough for Mielie, however now they are all getting on well together.

David joins them every now and again for some play time, where craziness always ensues, but the rest of the time he is spending with the HESC anti-poaching unit dogs.

April 2019 is still her planned weaning date, which means she will no longer be needing any more milk and can survive completely on hard foods.

Overall, Esme is full of natural energy and in good health. She has a very gentle nature and is a joy to all of us. Thank you.

**Please note if you would like to set up a monthly donation during this month of December, Global Giving will match the donation, so please consider us if you can!

Yours in Conservation,

The HESC Team