Rhino whisperer's wisdom wins out - 9th September 2022

Home to roughly four-fifths of the rhinoceros population worldwide, South Africa is a hotspot for poaching, with government statistics suggesting 450 rhinos were illegally slaughtered across the country in 2021.

The appetite for rhino horn stems from its supposedly therapeutic properties in Asian traditional medicine, which can see one piece retailing for tens of thousands of dollars.

Only the adult animals are targeted, meaning that their offspring are left orphaned and at grave risk, especially given their tiny proportions - a newborn calf weighs merely 20 kilograms. These youngsters require round-the-clock, expert care.

Veterinarian Doctor Pierre Bester, whose talent has earned him the nickname "the rhino whisperer", oversees their well-being at the Rhino Orphanage.

Dr Pierre Bester: "Firstly, mostly, their mothers have been poached. So they, from two weeks, three weeks, a month, six months - but all come here and you handle them differently. And you get them and you put them in crèches, put them in, in - give them a friend and then they cope."

The orphans are left acutely traumatised and caregivers will even opt to stay overnight in the same pen, to help the calves adjust and be a source of comfort. Providing the young rhinos with an animal buddy, like a sheep, is another of Bester's ingenious solutions.

For the orphanage's head, such quirky strategies are the secret to the centre's current success in rewilding the animals, once they're mature enough.

Yolande van der Merwe: "Working with Dr. Pierre is - it's amazing! We are so incredibly privileged to have a vet that's not a textbook vet, that thinks outside the box, that is willing to do things alternatively. He's very clever! He always finds a solution. He always makes a plan."

The sanctuary has just transferred to an undisclosed address in the hope of shielding the young rhinos from poachers. It's anticipated that once Bester's team have implemented measures to safeguard them, using special transmitters and the like, these majestic animals will ultimately roam free.