Second calf for Thandi, the anti-poaching icon, helps grieving family

“It was fantastic and the timing was unbelievable.”

Rushmere, 79, was a well-known EP cricketer, and his son Mark followed in his footsteps in the provincial team and also turned out for South Africa.

He originally bought 660 hectares of land on the Kariega River in 1989 and turned it into a 10 000 hectare mega park.

Although the sex of the baby rhino has still not been established, Rushmere said staff and friends were all insisting it be called Colin if it was a male.

Family friend Bronwen d’Oliveira yesterday said everybody was “still beaming with delight” after hearing that Thandi had a second calf.

“Everybody is blown away by the timing. “The birth was just so unexpected. “Colin’s passing and Thandi’s calf ties everything together very nicely.

“His vision saved her and then this happens.”

Thandi made world headlines in 2012 after Fowlds and Kariega tried to save her and a male called Themba after they were found near a third, dead rhino, with their horns hacked off.

It was the first time anyone had tried to save poached rhino and Fowlds and a team of experts treated the wounds and even did plastic surgery on Thandi.

Themba died 24 days later but Thandi fought back and survived despite undergoing 15 procedures in six months. She later had a calf called Hope. A statement from the family yesterday said: “The birth of Thandi’s second calf is a beautiful testament to the legacy our father left behind and this calf will be a joyful reminder of a special man and an inspired life.

“Dad was an eternal optimist and believed anything is possible – Thandi seems to be echoing his sentiments.”

Dr Fowlds said Thandi has become a global icon in the rhino community for her “incredible tenacity and sheer determination to survive and get on with life.

“She is such an inspiration to us all and the joy of her second calf has sent a wave chatter across the world yet again.” — davidm@dispatch.co.za