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Orphaned baby rhino mistakes cars for mum

An orphaned rhino in South Africa is cuddling up to cars, mistaking them for his dead mother.
A baby rhino nuzzles a car tire, mistaking it for its mother, with a person in uniform standing nearby on a dirt road.

In recent weeks we’ve seen the devastation that hunting can cause for endangered animals, and this little guy is just another heartbreaking example.

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A baby rhino, named “Donnie” by wildlife rangers, was orphaned after hunters killed his mother near the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Since then, Donnie has been trying build his family anew again, in the most harrowing way.

In an effort to find a parent who will adopt and take care of him, Donnie has been mistaking passing cars for adult rhinos and attempting to imprint on them.

Images via Debbie English.

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Donnie has been trailing after cars driving through the park and nuzzling up against them: something that baby rhinos sometimes do to get another rhino to ‘adopt’ them into their family.

It was during one of these efforts that vets, Debbie and Don English, came by little Donnie and recognised that he had to be taken to a sanctuary.

Since Donnie is only two months old, the veterinarians had to have him tranquilized and airlifted out.

Although he flatlined during his trip, he was able to be resuscitated and is now doing well.

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Here’s hoping the little guy finds a family soon.

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