Hunter the watchdog is sticking his neck out for this baby giraffe. Jazz was abandoned by his mother at birth and would have died in the wild if not for a farmer who found him Nov. 17, weak and dehydrated, and called The Rhino Orphanage in Limpopo, South Africa for help.
Hunter, a Belgian Malinois pup, promptly started looking after the gawky, 3-day-old newcomer upon his arrival, animal caretaker Janie Van Heerden tells the Associated Press.“Just when we thought it couldn’t get any cuter, sweeter and more heart-warming, this happened,” reads the caption of a video posted to the Rhino Orphanage Facebook page. “The bond and understanding between Jazz the giraffe and Hunter our Belgian Malinois are astonishing.”Dr Pierre Bester installed an IV catheter to administer much-needed fluids and nutrients immediately, according to the center’s social media platform.“The baby was very comatose for the first 18 hours but started showing signs of waking up,” the post reads.
“He managed to stand up a few times with the help of our carers and walked around this evening on very unsure legs. Baby giraffes are notorious for being labour-intensive and difficult to get on a bottle … Their height (about 1.8m) also doesn’t make it any easier. But we have a few tricks up our sleeves that will hopefully pay off.”Less than a week later, Jazz is now doing much better, staffers report. He’s already being fed milk and was even caught trying to eat leaves in one of a series of adorable Facebook videos.“Possibly soon he will be able to go home,” Heerden says.