WATCH: Rhino calf’s first tentative steps back into the wild after near-death experience

The baby rhino looks around warily before tentatively taking a few steps into the great outdoors.

And well he should - just six weeks earlier‚ an animal attack left him on the brink of death. The newborn rhino had his ears torn off‚ was severely dehydrated and had a severe wound on his right leg.

It did not look good for Vince‚ who was named after Vincent van Gogh.

According to the situation report by Wilderness Safaris‚ rhino monitor Pitso Modimbura‚ painted a bleak picture when he came across the calf in the Okavango Delta in mid-November: “The minute calf‚ roughly one to two weeks old‚ was found in a terrible condition‚ near exhaustion and severely dehydrated.

“His ears had been torn off‚ most likely by a spotted hyena clan‚ and he had a severe wound in his front right leg. But his mother had clearly intervened to save it from the attack.”

In order to get the calf the help he needed‚ teams went into action. His agitated mother was darted to calm her down‚ the two rhino were transported to a boma.

The calf was in such a bad way that he was picked up by hand and put into a Land Cruiser to be moved‚ while the mom was airlifted. The mom was originally from South Africa.

Around-the-clock care and treatment started in a specialised boma and‚ over time‚ Vince started getting better. On Monday‚ he and his mom were released into the wild.

“The injuries around his ears have completely healed and‚ although he will need to adjust‚ he will learn to cope without directional hearing. His limp at this stage is difficult to measure [but] he appears to be completely able-bodied‚” Wilderness said.

The pair were fed at about 3pm and‚ an hour later‚ began to make their way out of the boma. But‚ perhaps surprisingly‚ they did not bolt out.

Instead‚ it was mom who went first - sniffing the air and‚ ultimately‚ snorting before leaving. Vince followed tentatively. He looked around and then trotted to join his mom. The pair will now be monitored daily‚ but it looks like the calf has recovered from his near death experience.

- TMG Digital/TimesLIVE