Arthur is a small rhinoceros found curled up in pain next to the carcass of a dead rhino mother. It was brought to the sanctuary by a South African National Park veterinarian. Poachers killed Arthur’s mother and wounded his legs and back with a machete.
Arthur is a victim of rhino horn poaching that is still going on in Africa.
Arthur is cared for to heal his physical wounds in the Wild Rhino Sanctuary, but he also needs help recovering from the psychological trauma he has just experienced.
Baby rhinos often have to be protected by their mother for the first 3 years of life, so the sanctuary brought a friend to help Arthur forget the pain of losing his mother and quickly recover.
Arthur was found wounded and lying next to his mother's body.
A rhinoceros named Summer also lost her mother when she was very young, she is now 6 months old and was introduced to Arthur in the hope that it will help Arthur feel better.
Now Arthur has received medical care but his soul is still damaged.
When Summer first met Arthur, still bandaged around his back and legs, they immediately approached and began to touch each other's noses.
A fateful meeting helped two orphaned rhinos find joy and comfort.
Arthur seems to like Summer's nose push, even many people observe Arthur smiling happily.
"They love spending time together!", shared Petronel Nieuwoudt, owner of the reserve to The Dodo. "We can see he has become stronger and bigger, we are so proud of Arthur!"
They often give kisses to comfort each other.
The staff who watched the two rhinos confirmed that their mood had improved since meeting each other, which is really good news:
"Arthur and Summer are as close as old friends, they are very happy to be together."
Since Arthur and Summer met, they have become stronger and love life more.
People at the reserve always keep in mind that helping rhinos who have been through trauma will be very important in their care.
"Rehabilitation will be easier when orphaned rhinos can stay together to form bonds with other rhinos," the sanctuary's representative explained on Facebook.
Arthur and Summer will grow up together at the sanctuary and if all goes well, they will be returned to the wild.
Nieuwoudt confirmed: "We are very optimistic about the recovery of both", "They did very well!".
If poaching continues, we will continue to see rhinos fall just like that.
Rhinos are threatened with extinction only because there are many people who believe that rhino horn is valuable, especially in Asia. If this terrible thing continues, cases like Arthur will continue to happen and one day rhinos are just a species that appears in the books.