About three days after he was born, the baby giraffe was found by a farmer. He quickly called a local rhino rehabilitation centre, who immediately came to the baby giraffe’s aid. Extremely weak and dehydrated, he needed all the help he could get.
Abandoned by his mum, hanging on to dear life
Though staff at the rehab centre were more accustomed to caring for rhinos, they were determined to save baby Jazz. At first, when he arrived, Jazz was comatose. He was given intravenous fluids and, luckily, regained consciousness 18 hours later.
He was hard to treat: being 5.9 feet tall already, staff members had to get up on a stepping stool to feed him. With the help of a couple of specialist veterinarians, the staff started to help Jazz back up on his feet.
A faithful friend always by his side
While Jazz was on the road to recovery, Hunter, the centre’s anti-poaching and security Belgian Malinois, stood guard. For some reason, he developed an instinctual and very special bond with the little giraffe. While Jazz was weak and his future was uncertain, Hunter refused to eat. When Jazz started to feel better, Hunter started regaining his appetite, too. Jazz also needed lots of rest, and there was nothing Hunter liked better than cuddling with the little giraffe.
Sadly, Jazz has since passed away. And his best friend Hunter was right there with him to help him gently over the rainbow bridge. RIP, Jazz.
