A baby rhino named Gertjie was rescued after poachers killed his mother. Now, he's thriving.

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.upworthy.com/a-baby-rhino-named-gertjie-was-rescued-after-poachers-killed-his-mother-now-hes-thriving?c=upw1&u=6bacec6889bf05ba106ae00be40328adccb1c8a6

By Evan Porter

Rhino poaching has nearly wiped out the entire species. But the stories of the ones left behind should stay with us.

There once was a baby rhino named Gertjie.
A video of him snuggling up to his keeper at a South African rehab center is popping up all over the Internet. (Below)



Clip via Pick n Pay on YouTube

Before ending up here, however, he spent his days roaming the South African landscape with his mother, doing the things rhinos do. Eating. Taking mud baths. Creating massive piles of dung. Loving life.

But one day, out of the blue, his mother was murdered in front of him by poachers, her horn savagely cut away to be sold on the black market.

Rescuers from the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center (HESC) found Gertjie hiding by his mother's body and crying. They sedated him and took him back to their headquarters, where they worked to treat and nourish him.

Though in good physical health, Gertjie refused to sleep alone. He cried relentlessly. So HESC staff took turns sleeping with him. Soothing him.

Over time, Gertjie began to heal.

FULL story at link.

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. k&r

[NorthCarolinaL]

2. Great story

I was watching the PBS program recently on medical rescue of animals. One was a gorilla who had his arm amputated because a poacher had shot the gorilla's wrist. Supposedly the gorilla should not be in any more pain.

Another story was about a kite flying competition in India. Hundreds of people fly kites at the same time. The string is dipped in spun glass. The object is to shear everyone's else's string. The last kite flying wins.

The problems is that many, many birds fly into the strings and injure themselves. India uses a lot of vets to mend the wings and other bird parts. Really dedicated people who care about animals. I would like to wring the necks of these bastards who do things for their entertainment at the expense of animals.