Orphaned baby rhino rescued 'crying inconsolably' after mother killed by poachers (VIDEO)

YouTube screen capture



CAPE TOWN, South Africa --  A baby endangered rhino has people around the world talking on Twitter and Facebook after he was rescued clinging to the body of his mother who had been slaughtered by poachers in South Africa.

Baby Gertjie, nicknamed ‘Little G’ by rescuers, is nearly 4 months old and staying at Hoedspruit Endanger Species Center outside Cape Town.



Staffers say he still cannot sleep through the night without screaming and crying for his mother, so one of them often sleeps with him for comfort.

Little G is making progress however and staffers admit he has won all of their hearts with his fight for survival.

Staffers believe he was born in mid-February and his mother killed for her horn shortly after.

“It was a devastating sight, as the tiny animal would not leave her side, and was crying inconsolably for her,” wrote staffers in a statement posted on the rescue center’s website.

Courtesy HESC



When staffers aren’t present a sheep named “skaap” has been acting as a surrogate mother to Little G.

In an effort to raise money for the expensive fat-free milk needed for the baby rhino to survive the rescue center has begun asking for donations.

Staffer have also trained a live web camera on Little G and released a number of videos on YouTube.

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