Black rhino Thor makes a speedy recovery
Thor, an orphaned black rhino, almost died a few months ago but today he is enjoying daily mud baths and finds himself the centre of attention among a group of friends.
ER24 executives and head office staff recently visited Care for Wild Africa, home to a number of orphaned and or injured animals including Thor who made headline news late last year.
ER24 released a statement about Thor’s horrific past in December last year.
His mother suffered for a week after poachers shot her and took her horn. She had to be put down when she was found.
Thor was thin, stressed and dehydrated at the time. Care for Wild took him to their property to nurse him back to health but it was not an easy task.
He stopped breathing a few times while being airlifted but he managed to pull through. While at Care for Wild one night however, Thor went into shock. It was difficult to stabilise him.
Marius Koekemoer, the ER24 Northern Regional manager, went to the premises to help treat Thor.
During our visit to Care for Wild recently, ER24 was thrilled to see how well Thor is doing. He was found to be in a healthy state.
He has grown quite a personality, loves playing and is a selective eater. He spends his time with six other orphans; Tyson, River, Mabush, Tana, Wyntir and Annie.
Founder of Care for Wild, Petronel Nieuwoudt said, “Thor loves eating tree branches. He is much more alert and cheekier than the white rhinos. He is in a pen with Annie and Tyson. Tyson is losing the battle to Thor at the moment.”
ER24 supports Care for Wild’s cause
Wildlife like rhinos have to contend with and survive in extremely harsh environments. Knowing the torture these animals have to endure when they come face to face with poachers is heart wrenching.
Andrew Boden, the Chief Executive Officer of ER24, decided to help Care for Wild following a visit to the property in July last year.
Boden, who has a soft spot for animals, was impressed when he saw the extent Nieuwoudt and her team go to, to help sick or hurt animals.
Boden decided to support Care for Wild by providing them with medical supplies, much needed equipment and other necessities. During the recent visit ER24 was proud to see medical supplies and equipment that it had already provided to Care for Wild being put to good use.
It was refreshing to see how animals, which includes lions, rhinos and hippos, rescued and taken to Care for Wild are nurtured and given a second chance at life. Further supplies were handed to Nieuwoudt to continue taking care of the animals in need of attention.
One such animal for example is Venus, another orphaned rhino. She was found to be in a bad state when she was rescued in November last year.
Nieuwoudt said Venus was walking on a foot with a bad wound for quite some time prior to being rescued. She was covered in ticks and had abscesses. Her overall condition was poor on arrival at Care for Wild. Venus’ foot needed to be constantly treated and bandaged since then in order for it to heal. Fortunately, her health is improving.
Just prior to ER24’s recent visit, a severely dehydrated zebra was rescued and taken to Care for Wild.
During the visit, ER24 found Nieuwoudt, supported by several volunteers, trying to nurse the zebra back to health.
ER24’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Robyn Holgate, helped Nieuwoudt treat the zebra.
Volunteers
It was remarkable to see the number of volunteers, local and international, that Care for Wild attracts.
Volunteers help Nieuwoudt in a number of ways including in the preparation of food for the animals. This is no easy task.
Food is carefully prepared taking into account the medication and other needs of each animal.
Volunteers spoke highly of Care for Wild. They also said that caring for the animals has had great impact on their lives.
Ruby Bell from Australia, who had two bulldogs that she loved dearly, said, “One of my bulldogs died due to illness and the other was stolen. I came here to honour them and to heal. Being here is helping me. I did lots of research for rhino sanctuaries. I love rhinos. I did not know why before but now that I am around them I know why,” she said.
It was Arthi Nataraajan’s second visit to Care for Wild. Arthi, from Atlanta Georgia, said the reason for her return was because she grew close to Emma, a hippo at Care for Wild. “I came here for some therapy. I was around the animals and felt like I had a purpose. I really bonded with the animals and therefore came back,” she said. Autumn Harmon, who attends a school in Colorado, said she loves animals and doing anything she can to help them. She said she wants to give back as much as she can and taking care of animals is her way of doing just that.
The animals, Nieuwoudt and her team are like one big happy family. The love and affection for the animals is evident.
Nieuwoudt said, “For me to work with animals, see how they develop and see how they recover from trauma and shock is wonderful. Teaming up with ER24 is just amazing. It is wonderful to know I have ER24’s support. I can just pick up the phone, talk to them and they help me. For example with the zebra, Venus’ foot and Manji, another rhino… I needed assistance and ER24 helped. Without ER24 I am lost. We are also grateful to Dr Holgate for helping arrange assistance from Smith and Nephew and Umsinsi Health Care. They provided medical supplies and special dressings needed for Venus’ foot. We are lucky to have companies like these that believe in conservation and helping wildlife,” she said.
