Exactly one year ago today, a little orphaned black rhino was found at the bottom of a cliff. He had survived for two nights huddled beside the body of his mother, who had suffered a fatal fall. The Kenya Wildlife Service rescued him and brought him into our care.
Tytan and Notty just after their rescues
In the year Tytan has been at the Nursery, the 300-kilogramme baby who was rescued has grown into an impressive specimen weighing in at close to 450 kilogrammes! Tytan is nearly as tall as, and much wider than, Notty, and not that much smaller than Zuri.
One week after Tytan was rescued, a tiny orphaned zebra was brought to the Nursery. Her mother had succumbed to the same fate, falling off a cliff. Tytan and Notty, as we named her, became best buddies and have been inseparable ever since.
Tytan and Notty today
Although they still spend their days together, the two babies are growing up: Tytan is behaving just like a young black rhino, and Notty more like a wild zebra. He ignores the elephants and occasionally charges at them; she is intrigued and hovers on the fringes of the herd. He lumbers through the forest and rarely breaks into a jog; she skips around and canters off to see wild zebra. Tytan likes to do his own thing — while Notty is not so keen.
In the mornings, Tytan stays in his stockade until the elephants have settled to browse in the forest, heading out around an hour after the herd. On one morning last month, Muridjo, Mzinga, Zuri, Daba and Kipekee gathered outside Tytan's gate and stretched their trunks through the gaps to pick up pieces of lucerne. Tytan kept his distance and watched the elephants from a corner as they competed for the spoils. On another morning, Arthi stretched his trunk under the bottom of Tytan's gate to scoop up extra range cubes. On this occasion, Tytan charged towards the gate and an excited Arthi withdrew his trunk. Our rhino may be unpredictable — but there is no questioning his increasing strength.
Two male rhinos living in close proximity was always going to be interesting, even if the patriarch is blind and has a large enclosure while the upstart is a baby who spends his days in the forest. Maxwell has had to tolerate Tytan's presence — but has not welcomed another male rhino on his patch. The battle of the middens in the first few months was followed by territorial skirmishes full of head-butting, dust-kicking and charging in circles by both rhinos.
A temporary armistice was, to our delight, reached on a day at the end of June. As Max stood on one side of his gate and Tytan on the other, Max pushed his horn through a gap and Tytan held the horn in his mouth. The two rhinos stood quite still for a few minutes — before Tytan walked on to the forest and Max returned to his pile of pellets. We are sure, however, that the armistice will be of short duration!
Three months ago, Tytan had an operation to remove a suspected granuloma from his mouth. He spends his days grazing happily in the forest, crunching up thorny bushes with no sign of discomfort. Nevertheless, we continue to monitor his mouth. He is closely watched in every regard: Despite his physical prowess, Tytan remains an immature rhino who enjoys regular naps on the forest floor with Notty and his Keepers on sentry duty.