This is the story about Charlie the hippo. He’s a special rhino that was raised in an orphanage due to being left stranded by his pack at a very young age. Charlie was accompanied by a very special friend who has impacted his life ever sine.
If you’ve ever grown up in a household with an adopted sibling, you would know how it is to be around someone who might not share similar backgrounds and origins. With that in mind, sharing the same space can be quite interesting with regards to social interactions. In the case of wildlife, these things can actually occur as well amongst a diverse group of social animals such as hippos and rhinos.
A hippo by the name of Charlie was rescued only after he had recently lost his mom. Additionally, a baby rhino named Makhosi stayed with Charlie in an animal orphanage where they began bonding over time. What comes next is one of the most adorable sights you’ll see all day.
Baby Charlie appeared as though he never received much attention or even milk from his mom. The rescuers suspect this happened during a drought season where supply is scarce.
Similarly, A baby rhino by the name of Makhosi was also a drought baby that was left and abandoned by his mom during the same drought season. The pair were in desperate need of social interaction and familiarity in order to receive warmth and familiarity with their surroundings.
Luckily, the situation just made sense and so it was decided that Charlie and Makhosi would be grouped up together. Once the two met, it was almost an instant connection made.
Charlie and Makhosi immediately got along at first sight. They were even comfortable enough with each other to snuggle with each other looking for body warmth. These two are definitely a sight to see! They quickly became inseparable and would maintain this bond for some time to come.
As the two matured and got older, it would be time to begin training Charlie to get used to surviving in the wild. At this point, he had been so attached to Makhosi that he had forgotten how to act like a hippo! Charlie had completely forgotten how to familiarize himself with his own kin.
Charlie’s caretakers worried that Charlie might not be able to take care of himself in the wild because he still considered himself a rhino. “He grew up thinking he was a rhino, never knowing another hippo so he never learned any hippo behavior” said Megan Lategan who is the Orphange director of Zululand Rhino.
The Orphanage figured it would be a good idea to pair Charlie up with a fellow hippo in order to start getting him to behave like one. As it turns out, a friend named Moomin joined the crew in order to help raise Charlie into full-fledged hippo adult.
At first, they were a little nervous to meet each other as Charlie had never been exposed to one of his own kin before. But after moments of reacquainting with each other, the two got along perfectly with each other and it looks like Charlie was well on his way to being able to co-exist with different hippos.
Charlie now has been seen interacting with other hippos like never before! It looks his friendship with Moo did the trick. He loves being sprayed with water and sleeping with the other hippos under the tree. He still hasn’t forgotten about his best friend, Makhosi. He still hangs with him from time to time and they still get along perfectly fine.
Check out Charlie’s story and complete development down below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
