When one of the younger, rhino cows got pregnant for the first time, we were all awaiting the arrival with great anticipation. Then the frantic call came over the radio. One of the bulls was fighting with the young cow while she was giving birth.

As bad luck would have it a grumpy bull came past just as Daisy’s mom was in labor. The smells apparently confused him and he charged her. A tremendous fight followed but the bull would not stop and chased Daisy’s mom into the veldt. Newborn Daisy was left all alone.

The reserve team moved in with their trucks and picked Daisy up, wrapped her in blanket and set off after her mom. We found the mom quite a distance away and got as close as we dared and put Daisy on the ground. We were all holding breath that her mom would take her, but no such luck. The experience was just all too much for the mom. She turned and ran away.

Once again Daisy was wrapped in blankets and put on the car and home it was. By now she was cold and thirsty.

We were not experienced with raising newborn rhino’s, so we phoned Karen Trendler, who has raised several before. Karen told us to be careful what we fed Daisy as baby rhinos are very often allergic to cow’s milk and can even die from it. Oh panic, what now? She said to just give Daisy water for now to rehydrate, and that she was on her way with proper formula and medicine.

Once home and water bottle in hand I got ready to feed Daisy who was now a bit more than desperate. Problem number one: Rhino’s nudge their mom’s to get milk, so Daisy nudged me, knocking me to the floor! When I eventually got up, I realized that I would have to stand tougher and get a towel to brace my now bruised ribs.

It was a battle but Daisy and I eventually came right. Karen arrived with her formula and medicine for her umbilical cord and feet.

Daisy was thrilled and loved her new mild formula, the nudging even got gentler as she got full.

Night brought another drama, as baby rhino’s sleep with their mother’s to keep warm. So the double bed mattress was brought into the lounge, and everything else was moved out. A heat lamp was placed over the mattress and this is where we all had to sleep. Daisy was quite content but snored and kicked the whole night.

In the end, all went well and Daisy got bigger very fast. Rhino calves stay with their moms for two to three years, and we realized that Daisy would be better served elsewhere. Fortunately, we were able to relocate Daisy to a farm nearby that had a larger staff that could look after her and give her the special attention she needed.

Daisy quickly made friends with a huge dog on the farm, and the two of them could be seen running through the veldt together. Daisy is still on the farm and is now a healthy, happy young rhino.

A recurring problem with orphaned baby bush babies is that mothers tend to “park” them. When they are old enough, usually about a month, the mom will take them with her when she goes out to forage. As she requires her hands to catch the insects needed to feed her babies, she puts the young ones in a safe spot while she goes off to hunt for bugs. This is called parking.

Unfortunately, parking is a little known behaviour and guests at the reserve often come across these babies and presume that they have been abandoned. The guests then unwittingly pick up the infant bushbabies and bring them to us. We have tried to take them back and get them to their mothers, but this has never been successful.

I have had about eleven bush babies come to be reared by me in this manner.

But not Wink. He fell out of his nest, which was high in a roof,  sometime during the night. His mom did not come and pick him up which she usually would have. We tried to locate her but with no success. We presumed that something might have happened to her when she went out to feed.

Wink grew up very fast and in no time was jumping and running all over the house. Bush babies urinate on their hands for better grip and to sent mark their territory. In no time, my refrigerator, curtain railings and every lamp was covered in sticky, smelly pee.

Despite this behaviour, Wink was easy to like. He was quick to make friends with everyone, even animals of another species. I woke one night to find him sharing his bowl of food with the dassie I was also rearing.

Bush babies are strictly nocturnal and in no time he was outside at night exploring the big wide world. He made his new nest in the rafters of my roof and would sleep there during the day.

When I got another bush baby to look after the next season, Wink was quick to adopt him and teach him the ropes. He made an excellent foster parent to most of the bush babies that came into my care.