A few years ago, poachers attacked three rhinos and left them on their own to die. A few park rangers found the rhinos after the attack, and two of them were still alive.
Dr. William Fowlds, a wildlife veterinarian, and the park rangers made it their mission to care for the surviving rhinos. They named them Themba and Thandi.
Fowlds explains that when he first saw Thandi, the female rhino, she was lying in a pool of her own blood, and he figured there was no way they were going to be able to save her.
But Thandi was able to get to her feet, and she displayed a level of consciousness that gave her rescuers hope.
The male rhino, Themba, wasn’t so lucky. His condition weakened, and he died 24 days after he was rescued.
The day he died he had been drinking from a watering hole when he lost his balance and slipped in. Since he was so weak, he wasn’t able to get himself out of the water and he drown.
Thandi fought for her life and eventually recovered. Her story quickly spread throughout the world and impacted many people.
A few years later, she became pregnant, and the rangers that saved her knew it was an opportunity to tell an incredible story.
Once they knew Thandi had given birth, they set out to find her and her calf. They chipped her, so they were able to estimate her location.
They quickly located her deep in the brush with a healthy baby calf.
Fowlds says getting the news of Thandi’s newborn calf was an “incredibly amazing feeling.” If he and the rangers had not saved Thandi, her newborn calf would not be here today.