THANK YOU!
We have raised $ 36 445 for the Rescued Rhino's and are extremely proud to be able to say thank you to our amazing donors. We also want to especially thank everyone that supported us during this unstable time in the world! Every donation no matter how big or small helps us get closer to our goals!
AN UPDATE ON THE RESCUED RHINOS @ HESC
The six Rescued Rhinos @ HESC are all well and have been fully rehabilitated despite traumatic experiences in poaching incidents or having lost their mothers. We plan to release them all back into the wild, as is our conservation ethos, but at present, we consider them still too young to cope on their own. We are very grateful for the generous support received via GlobalGiving because although it is our privilege and passion to care for these animals, the financial burden is often greater than we can manage.
Here is an update on each of our beautiful rhinos:
Esme
Esme is doing really well and loves the company of her friend Dawid, They love playing around running after one another. They also now then try to get a curator involved to play with them. We still see Esmé as our little baby even though she is not at all that little anymore
Khulula
Khulula is turning into a beautiful lady and will always be seen by Lula’s side. She is also doing very well and with cold weather, she gets really playful.
Lula
Lula is also well. She has grown up so fast and we can see that she wants to be the top rhino as she keeps Khulula and Nkhandla in line when it comes to feeding time. She insists on being the first one to eat and only then may Khulula and Nkhandla follow
Nkhandla
Nkhandla is an adventure seeker. Often he will wander away from the ladies, just to see what he can find along the way. He really enjoys his mud baths and will most of the time be found lying around in the mud bath.
Stompie
Stompie is doing well and is mostly seen with Balu – in fact the two are almost inseparable. We are very proud of the bond that Stompie and Balu have made here, knowing that is was of great comfort to them in the rehabilitation process.
Balu
Balu is also well and is always first when it is feeding time. He and Stompie love taking mud baths and taking it easy on a warm day.
THANK YOU!
We have raised $3 607 since December and are extremely proud to be able to say thank you to our amazing donors. We also want to especially thank everyone that supported us during the past giving season! Every donation no matter how big or small helps us get closer to our goals!
AN UPDATE ON THE RESCUED RHINOS @ HESC
After an eventful 2019 and the release of 7 of the Rescued Rhino’s, we can report that all of them are still safe and happy after their release!
News from the 6 orphans still in our care:
Esme has had a few visits from the Vet recently as she has developed a small hole next to her horn that needed attention. The Vets have not come to a conclusion as to what it is but it does not seem to be causing problems. Our team has just been instructed to drain it and to keep it clean while keeping a watchful eye on her. She still loves her mud baths and her daily visits from David as well as spending time with her pedi-sheep friend, Mielie.
Lula, Nhlanhla and Khulula are peas in a pod. They love taking midday naps next to each other under the same tree even if space gets limited sometimes.
Stompie and Balu stick together like superglue, they have been very fond of each other and best friends since they met. They also love hassling and playing games with the staff, especially when its feeding time.
We will send you another update on the rhinos and their progress within the quarter.
FUNDING
Funds raised from the Big Rhino Need Big Hearts Too project allow us to continue to rehabilitate, protect and give sanctuary where needed to this endangered species.
Thank you for your contribution to these beautiful animals. Please continue to support us where you can.
Links:
THANK YOU!
We would firstly like to say thank you to each and every person that has supported us. We have raised $22 970 to date. We also want to especially thank everyone that supported us on #GivingTuesday! Every donation no matter how big or small helps us get closer to our goals!
AN UPDATE ON THE RESCUED RHINOS @ HESC
We can proudly announce that we have successfully released another rhino.
Olivia was the seventh rhino to be released over the past year. She arrived at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre(HESC) in April 2016 as a little four-month-old, scared and alone. She had been witness to the savage killing of her mother and was found next to the butchered carcass, orphaned by the heartless actions of ruthless rhino poachers. She was successfully released in September 2019, the same weekend as World Rhino Day.
News from the 6 orphans still in our care:
Esme seems like she is enjoying the last few rainy days and is more active and playful now. Overall, she is loving her me-time and time with Mielie, the Pedisheep and David, the Anatolian Shepherd dog. Esme is still the youngest of our Rhinos and has been weaned earlier this year.
Lula follows Nhlanhla and Khulula around and doesn't leave them for a second. They have quite a close bond. Khulula as always she is always first in line to start enjoying her food. Nhlanhla is the first to fall down and enjoy a mud bath.
Stompie likes to block the trucks off with feeding time just so he can come around and say halo first before we can continue with feeding and Balu is always so eager for food he starts eating it off the back of the vehicle.
Here is a look back at the 6 rhinos that were released from our care into the wild since December 2018:
These two were our first releases that took place five years after the two rhinos survived a vicious poaching attack that left them severely injured and a bull dead. Fully rehabilitated, but dehorned to deter further poaching attacks, they are living testimony of the rehabilitation work the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC) performs on injured and orphaned animals brought to the Centre. Needless to say, proud as we were, it was an emotional experience to let them go.
The story of these two orphans that came to us at the age of approximately three months and barely one month after their mothers had been viciously killed for their horns in their presence, is another one of our success stories. Their release was conducted in partnership with Investec Rhino Lifeline, longstanding supporter of our rescued rhino project, and was widely publicised in the media.
We describe the tale of Ike and Phillipa as a story of rehabilitation and a heart-warming love story. Ike had his horn hacked off as a young bull of around three years old and was brought to HESC by Saving the Survivors. Understandably terrified and nervous in the extreme, he only relaxed after he met Phillipa in an adjacent camp who had experienced an equally horrendous poaching attack on her and her mother. The two-year-old Phillipa survived, but not the mother. Ike and Philippa were released together and are still never far apart!
Although we release our rhinos, we keep track of them and can report that all have adapted well to life in the wild again.
FUNDING
Funds raised from the Big Rhino Need Big Hearts Too project allow us to continue to rehabilitate, protect and give sanctuary where needed to this endangered species.
Thank you for your contribution to these beautiful animals. Please continue to support us where you can.
Links:
An Update on our Big Rhino's Need Big Hearts Too Campaign
Through GG we have raised a staggering $17,821 so far since the project was launched mid-2018. We would hereby like to say THANK YOU to every person that has supported our big rhinos project! We are extremely grateful for all the donations and support over the last year.
An update on the Rescued Rhinos @ HESC
The last few months have held some amazing changes for the rhino crash at HESC with 6 of our 13 rhino’s released back into the wild.
We previously mentioned the release of Lion’s Den and Dingle Dell, which we have seen a few times over the past months. They are doing well in their new environment and have even been seen with a rhino bull nearby.
Five years after arriving at HESC, Gertjie and Matimba, fully rehabilitated, robust, confident and strong rhino bulls were able to sustain themselves; our job was done and they were ready to start their new journey, their second chance at life. They were successfully released in June 2019. We are still monitoring them now and again to keep track of their wellness and stress levels.
Phillipa and Ike, our other two poaching victims, were released in August 2019 once they received their final clearance from the vet. We will also keep monitoring them for any change in their stress levels and wellness.
Our other members of the crash are also doing well.
Esme, the youngest, is growing bigger and bigger by the day. Since she was weaned in April, she loves exploring her piece of land more and more with her best friend, Mielie, following her around and keeping her company.
Khulula, Olivia, Lulu, Nlhanhla, Stompie and Balu are all doing well. They especially love their morning runs behind the HESC truck.
Funding
Funds raised from the Big Rhino Need Big Hearts Too project allow us to continue to rehabilitate, protect and give sanctuary where needed to this endangered species.
Thank you for your contribution towards these beautiful animals. Please continue to support us where you can.
Links:
Big Rhinos Need Big Hearts Too
The Big Rhinos Need Big Hearts Too project was launched nine months ago, with a target set at USD118 536, of which we have raised USD9 983 so far. THANK YOU to everyone that has followed and supported the project! We are extremely grateful.
The Rescued Rhinos @ HESC
It has been so heart-warming to witness the changes among our incredible crash of rhinos and to see them all going from strength to strength. Watching their unique personalities play out and the bonds between them developing is truly beautiful. One thing that unites them all is a continuous improvement and growing comfort in themselves and their environments. They are a beloved part of our family and give us as much hope and inspiration as we have tried to give them.
WHAT HAVE OUR RHINOS BEEN UP TO?
Esme
From the 1st of April, Esme has been weaned off milk. She is not at all taken aback by not getting her bottle anymore – as long as she can go out and play with Lammie on the HESC grounds, she is happy. She is very well-behaved and by 6pm she is back in the boma, ready for her nightly routine.
Gertjie and Matimba
Gertjie and Matimba are still inseparable as the day they met. Their close relationship is unbelievable to see. They can’t walk without the other one tagging along. Matimba is still the little brother in the relationship and hides behind Gertjie most of the time, while Gertjie plays the protector.
Olivia, Khulula, Nhlanhla and Lula
These four rhinos remain in the same roaming area and, except for Esme, they are still the youngest rhinos at HESC. They all continue to keep close to one another. They receive feedings of teff and lucern twice daily, though they prefer sniffing out and munching on the lucern most.
Stompie and Balu
Stompie and balu have been moved to a new roaming area. At first, they were confused by this and tried going back to their original roaming grounds. But once they realised that they had a new dam and that there were fun new smells and sights to explore, they started to feel more at home. They have an amazing brotherly bond and are never seen without each other.
Ike and Philippa
Ike and Philippa have been crazy-in-love from first sight. They are glued to each other. Philippa is the brave one, which is understandable since Ike is the one who has experienced the most suffering in life. We are very happy and impressed by Ike and Philippa’s progress.
Funding
Funds raised from the Big Rhino Need Big Hearts Too project allow us to continue to rehabilitate, protect and give sanctuary where needed to this endangered species.
Thank you for your contribution towards these beautiful animals. Please continue to support us where you can.
Links:
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