On 30 June 2026, an adult female white rhino and her approximately three-year-old calf were killed for their horns in South Africa’s Waterberg.

The following day, her second calf was found alone in the bush.

She was just two days old.

The tiny calf, later named Nova, was wandering and crying for her mother. She was brought into emergency care, where keeping her alive became a 24-hour responsibility.

For Charles, who became Nova’s full-time carer, her loss was particularly personal. He had known and monitored Nova’s mother before she was killed. Now he is helping raise the calf she left behind.

At only days old, Nova was completely dependent on her mother for milk, protection and companionship. Her care requires carefully managed milk feeds around the clock, close monitoring, exercise and someone available to her at all hours.

And sometimes, she simply needs comfort.

Nova still wakes up crying in the night. When she does, Charles gets up and rubs her back until she settles.

She has also found companionship in Rayban, a sheep who has become her constant companion. They sleep together, explore together and spend their days side by side, giving Nova the companionship that is particularly important for a young rhino suddenly separated from both her mother and sibling.

Today, Nova is approximately six weeks old and thriving. She runs, plays in the mud, swims and grows stronger every day.

But keeping an orphaned rhino alive for six weeks is only the beginning.

Nova is expected to require approximately another 16.5 months of specialised care, until around 18 months of age, when she can begin the next stage toward release. That means months of milk, veterinary care, monitoring, exercise and the continued commitment of the people caring for her every day.

The goal is not captivity. The goal is to get Nova back into the wild.

And that means making sure there is a safer wild for her to return to.

The killing of Nova’s mother and brother came after years without a rhino poaching incident in this particular area and was a devastating reminder of how quickly the security situation can change.

Alongside supporting Nova’s ongoing care, this effort will help strengthen protection for the rhinos that remain in the landscape. This includes expanding real-time rhino monitoring through GPS/LoRa tracking collars, increasing communications coverage with additional LoRa towers, improving surveillance, and strengthening anti-poaching and rapid-response capacity.

Nova survived the poaching that killed the rest of her immediate family.

We cannot change what happened to her mother and brother. But we can help determine what happens next.

We can give Nova the care she needs to grow strong and independent. We can help protect the rhinos that remain. And we can work toward the day when Nova no longer needs Charles to prepare her bottles, Rayban to sleep beside her, or people watching over her around the clock.

And one day, we hope she will be ready to live as a wild rhino again.

Please help us get Nova home.