Unlikely Friendship: Orphaned Baby Rhino, Zebra Become Best Friends at South Africa Animal Park

• Two orphaned baby animals; a rhino and zebra have developed an unlikely friendship that animal experts believe is due to grief
• The duo was rescued by an animal park in South Africa and formed the bond while recuperating at an ICU
• Zebra Modjadji has been credited with helping seven-month-old rhino Daisy recover by constantly cuddling her

A rhino and zebra have become best friends at an animal park in South Africa after the two orphans were rescued in the wild.

Seven-month-old rhino Daisy and zebra Modjadji were picked after losing their parents and raised by the Care For Wild animal sanctuary in the Barberton Nature Reserve.

United by the ICU

Daily Mail reports that Daisy and Modjadji, whose name means "rain queen" struck a friendship shortly after meeting and have kept growing closer every day.

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Since the pair became inseparable, the animal sanctuary has been sharing daily updates about the unlikely friendship on Instagram.

The two were often photographed cuddling from the days they were being treated, to now when they can walk and have dinner together.

"This little orphan zebra has been a life saver, always there for her rhino friend," read a statement from the sanctuary.

Modjadji was saved by blood transfusion

It was concluded that Modjadji's love and cuddles have gone a long way in reviving little Daisy who was rescued while in a bad shape.

The sanctuary also clarified that despite helping the young rhino, Modjadji is still a baby herself who was found alone and barely alive after heavy rains and storms.

"Just over eight weeks old, she is also drinking milk every three hours around the clock," the statement continued.

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Medics at the facility indicate that Modjadji was "extremely compromised and with severe anaemia," adding that she had to receive a blood transfusion from another zebra to survive.

Sharing love, and hope

Given that the baby zebra is now a lot stronger, she watches over the little rhino orphan who is still recovering.

Daisy was rescued when she was just 12 hours old, wet from the womb, and still had her umbilical cord attached.

When rescued, she was unable to stand, had a 'nasty umbilical infection' and was extremely weak and vulnerable.

Her survival is attributed to a plasma transfusion she received to boost her immune system as well as the intensive round-the-clock care.

Pair will be separated someday

Perhaps, the heartbreaking bit about the inspiring story is that despite being close, the two will have to be separated at some point.

This is due to the fact that the sanctuary's long term goal is "a successful release back into their natural ecosystems with their own species."

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"Whilst Daisy will eventually join the other orphaned rhinos and Modjadji will return to a herd of zebras, their unique friendship will always be a vital part of their rehabilitation journey," the sanctuary said.

Netizens react to adorable video

janpari:

Love to see these two Besties!! ❤️❤️ God Bless the Rangers; they are Heroes in every way!

cynnorris:

Thank you to the rangers for taking care of these sweet babies!! I would not mind getting up at 2am for those adorable faces

erstoveld:

We love them so much!

mand.c1967:

2 beautiful little sweet hearts you can see why it's the highlight of the rangers night feeding daisy and modjadji I love seeing these 2

Crocodile hitched ride on hippo

A Popular South African website, Briefly reported in February this year that social media users were awed by aerial photos of a crocodile hitching a ride on the back of a hippopotamus.

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Jay Roode, the man who was lucky to catch the once-in-a-lifetime scene, explained that they were overflying the jungle when his eyes spotted something peculiar.

"I glimpsed this scene as we came down to land at Khwai airfield in northern Okavango and had to ask Jan to do a touch and go and circle back to make sure I wasn't hallucinating," he said.

The scene left many netizens amazed as they admitted that they have never witnessed or imagined such a type of friendship.

Source: TUKO.co.ke