The incomprehensible mother-baby bond.
Taz Watson
The intensity of the bond between a mother and a baby rhino is supposedly unfathomable, even to humans. A cow only has a baby every 2.5 years and during that period a calf and its mother are never more than a few feet apart. The calf mimics her mother – following her every move almost seamlessly. The cow is fiercely protective and her days consist of protecting, teaching and feeding her precious calf.
The parent-child bond in these creatures is truly extraordinary and it is heartbreaking to accept that someone could so callously destroy it. When a poacher is after rhino horn (which has a higher price per gram than gold), one of two things is likely to unfold. Either the poacher brutally kills both the mother and the baby for their horns, even though the baby barely has more than a tiny stump at the end of its nose, or the poacher kills the mother and leaves the baby stranded and alone. This is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a baby. From this moment on, a baby is traumatized, lost, alone and sometimes even savagely hacked and left to die next to the carcass of its mother.
The heartbreaking story of two-month old rhino, Ntombi, emphasizes this bond and the tragedy that surrounds rhino horn poaching. Poachers hacked Ntombi’s mother’s horn from her face while she watched in distress nearby. Baby Ntombi returned to her dead mothers side as poachers were removing her horn and in response to this the poachers hacked and slashed the baby’s face repeatedly with a panga and an axe to chase her away. Ntombi was severely injured. One of the brutal hacks extended all of the way through her horn stump into her sinuses and another penetrated her skull.
My heart bleeds for this little baby every time I hear/read about her loss, her trauma, her bravery and her incredible will to survive. Ntombi was rescued by Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) Rhino Orphanage Response Project and taken to the Rhino Orphanage where she was given round-the-clock care. Baby Ntombi desperately needed comfort after her trauma, but her mother was dead and she was petrified of humans. Thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers at the orphanage, baby Ntombi was given the comfort she so desperately needed, was nursed back to health and given a second chance at life.
Ntombi – our little saviour and our inspiration to make a difference. Brave little baby.
tres touchant!