The daily routine of a rescued baby black Rhino named Apollo was recently recorded and shared by a rescue facility in Africa – and the images suggest that the animal is being taken care of very well.
Apollo belongs to a critically endangered species. He was taken into care by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, who saved him from the possible threat of predators and hunters.
Apollo’s mother Amoy died of anthrax and was found dead by the Tsavo West National Park rangers in September 2019.
Currently, Apollo is being held at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Field HQ in Kaluku near the place where he was rescued from. He will be held there till the time he grows up and can protect himself.
After that, he’ll be released into the wild, but in a protected area.
Apollo’s keepers tend to every single one of his needs. He is provided with his very own mud baths and is comforted with gentle horn rubs.
The little Rhino is getting all the love he deserves and is also being trained for the wildlife with daily lessons in the “bush school.”
So far, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has devotedly brought up 17 homeless rhinos to take care of.
Rhinos are critically endangered and are facing imminent extinction mainly because of hunting and poaching for their horn as locals believe it has some medicinal properties.
In reality, the horn of a rhino is made up of Keratin, the same thing that makes our fingernails.
Every rhino killed for its horn is just a waste of life and a loss of an individual necessary for the ecosystem to sustain and prosper.
The Executive Director of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Rob Brandford, revealed how the staff at the facility is taking care of Apollo.
He told Daily Mail: “Typical of black rhinos, Apollo enjoys routine, familiar faces and known surroundings.
“Most mornings, he begins his days early, emerging from his custom built stable (which keeps him warm, cozy and secure from predators during the night) at six in the morning to mill around close to home after enjoying his morning milk feed.
“Having been orphaned at the tender age of just six months, our Keepers now successfully fulfill the parental role and remain by Apollo’s side every waking (and sleeping) minute of every day.
“Apollo is cared for a by a team of experienced rhino Keepers, who work in rotation to ensure Apollo doesn’t get used to any one carer should they go on annual leave.
“During his daily excursions, there are always two Keepers with him and most days they encounter a number of wild animals along the way, varying from elephants, to the tiny dik-dik.
“His milk feeds are brought to him wherever he is in the bush and between milk feeds his diet is complemented by lavish amounts of greens, much of which he browses on himself, but tasty bits are collected by the Keepers and shared with him too.
“Most of the action takes place early in the day and late in the afternoons; the times when the temperature is cooler and the energy levels are high.
“He loves to run along the sandy river bed – keeping up with him is no easy feat – as the hippos and other wildlife cast a lazy eye over this unusual sight.
“As he’s only a baby, he takes lots of cat naps throughout the day, sleeping at his Keepers’ feet, comforted by their close proximity.
“His fondness for his Keepers is matched only by his love affair with his bedtime mattress, which he hoists up and over his head before settling down on a soft bed of hay for the night, creating his very own cozy fortress.
“Thanks to donations from supporters across the world, we are privileged to be in a position to support Apollo through his milk-dependent years and, in time, help him return to his birthright: a life in the wild.”
Replaced!