Little Charlie the Hippo thought he'd be alone forever. A few days after he was born, his entire family abandoned him.
Without any true survival skills to rely on, little Charlie was hanging onto life by a thread. Miraculously, rescuers from Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage picked him up, and brought him to their facility to recover and regain his wellness and strength.
Coincidentally, while Charlie was healing from his ordeal, another new rescue, two-day-old Makhosi the Rhino, was just embarking on her own road to recovery. Makhosi was born too small to nurse off of her mother. She, too, was thankfully discovered and rescued by folks from Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage and immediately shuttled to their facility for rehabilitation.
As Makhosi's first night in her new rescue home carried on, this scared, struggling rhino just couldn't calm down. At her wits' end, Karen Trendler, Makhosi's rescuer, took a chance. She lifted the enclosure separating Makhosi and Charlie's pens, and what happened next was pure magic! Within five minutes, this rhino and hippo were snuggling up to one another — totally at peace.
Scroll through our gallery to learn about these adorable rescue animals' precious friendship.
[H/T: The Dodo]
Baby hippo, Charlie, was abandoned by his family a few days after his birth.
Thankfully, rescuers from Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage found him, and slowly but surely nursed him back to good health.
As Charlie began feeling better, though, another struggling animal was just embarking on her own healing journey.
While little Charlie was recovering, rescuers found two-day-old Makhosi the Rhino in the wild, completely struggling.
When Makhosi was born, she was far too small to reach her mom's teat. Unable to properly nurse, this little rhino became more and more malnourished.
Karen Trendler, a rescuer with Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage, wrote on Facebook, "A call resulted in emergency kits being grabbed and a rush to Pongola where we met up with vet Mike Toft.
"After observing the calf and mom carefully, Mike realized that the calf was so tiny and weak that it could not reach the mothers teat. So weak it wouldn't survive the night.
"The calf is very low birth weight and size possibly due to drought or a placental problem with the mom — fortunately [the mom] is ok and still in the wild."
Trendler continued, writing that, "By 3 am, the calf wasn't settling.
"I took a chance and dropped the barrier between rhino and hippo [Charlie] — instant bond and Makhosi settled.
"In a very short time the rhino and hippo calf have become inseparable, providing comfort and company to one another."
Since Charlie and Makhosi's first moment together, these two adorably fast friends have formed a powerful bond, which is already helping them weather new storms.
Recently, Charlie developed a bout of pneumonia.
With his best friend, Makhosi, by his side though, as well as with his rescuers' diligent care, he's valiantly pulling through yet another trauma.
Trendler explains, "Charlie has really helped to give tiny Makhosi the will to live, supporting our intensive nursing and care."
Makhosi and Charlie's story is beautiful reminder that pure friendship knows no bounds.
Hopefully, these two will get to enjoy each other for many years to come.
While both Charlie and Makhosi suffered terrible tragedies early on in life, they've since found in each other the beautiful opportunity to live happy and loved lives.
What do you think of this hippo and rhino's adorable friendship? Let us know in the comments.
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