Masingitta (Meaning: “Miracle” in Tsonga) was named by the Black Mamba all female anti-poaching team, who were helping at the Orphanage in Hoedspruit. Her mother’s carcass was found by tracking blood spattered drag marks in the sand. It was a further 24 hours before finding the calf, and she was then transferred to the facility by helicopter. She was only 3 months old on arrival. She was terrified of the dark and her carers realised that in order to gain her trust she needed to be kept out of the dark for several weeks.
2023 Update
In 2021, it was confirmed that Masingitta was pregnant, with we assume the dominant wild bull in the reserve. In October 2021, the pitter patter of large baby feet were bumbling around, as little Lesedi (Meaning: “Light”) was born.
The re-wilding process is complete – an orphaned rhino calf is back in the wild, and having mated with a wild white rhino, will produce the next generation of wild rhino. This helps ensure valuable genetic variety – and every rhino counts.
https://www.facebook.com/RhinoRevolution/videos/4662032367235774/
Video from April 2022 filmed by Sandy de Beer