Rhino Orphans - Hoedspruit, South Africa

Young white rhinos graze, wallow and doze together in a quiet boma at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, near the edge of South Africa’s greater Kruger. Most arrived as orphans after their mothers were killed by poachers, and here they get the care, company and time they need to grow up.

The center has been rescuing and caring for injured and orphaned animals since 1994, and around six rhinos are looked after at a time. Calves are bottle-fed at first, then slowly move on to grass and browse as they grow, with keepers watching their health every day.

At night, an infrared camera keeps watching, and the rhinos often sleep side by side under the trees. Hoedspruit sits beneath the Drakensberg escarpment, in bushveld also home to cheetahs, wild dogs and vultures, several of which the center also helps protect.

Did You Know? A white rhino’s name may come from the Dutch word “wijd,” meaning wide, describing its broad, square lip, which it uses like a lawnmower to graze short grass.

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