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Conservationists are going to extraordinary lengths to save the life of a baby black rhino who is blind.
The rhino, which has been named Max, is one of the rarest animals on the planet. But because of his blindness he has been rejected by his mother. Now an animal charity is spending tens of thousands of dollars to ensure he can survive.
A keeper sleeps in his enclosure and feeds him every four hours, including waking in the night, to keep his strength up.
He is fed 17 litres of expensive Lactogen milk, funded by a British Airways community programme, every day.
Max is being cared for by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which became famous after the BBC TV series The Elephant Diaries, at their project in Kenya.
There are plans to allow 19-month-old Max to live life to the fullest by building a huge 2.5sq km fenced pen for him.
"It's very rare for a black rhino to be completely blind. In fact, we've never had one before," said volunteer Victor Matumah. "The keepers were out on the reserve one day and heard these cries. When they found him at first they hoped his mother would come back.
"But after a while it was clear he was completely blind and had been abandoned."
Victor said Max was given a cataract operation to try to regain sight in one eye.
"It was not successful," he said. "He will have another one in the other eye shortly."
Poachers have destroyed the black rhino population, with numbers dropping by 96 per cent since 1970.
It is believed that barely 2700 of them survive in the wild.
- Observer
