An Orphaned Baby Rhino Gives Her Human Caretaker a Couple of Sweetly Sloppy Kisses

A sweet baby rhino named Grace who lives at the Rhino Orphanage in South Africa was taking a morning walk with her caretaker Laura Ellison when she decided demonstrate her love for Ellison with a couple of wet, sloppy kisses. The kisses actually involved sucking on Ellison’s nose with her very strong lips.

I was with a rhino orphan, Grace who is being hand raised at The Rhino Orphanage after she lost her mother to poachers earlier this year. The rhino orphans share very close bonds with their carers who mimic the bond that they should have had with their mothers. This is to ensure the success of the hand raising process. This bond will be broken to prepare the rhinos for the wild as they get closer to the age of being fit for release and move to their final stage of rehabilitation. In this video, baby rhino Grace is affectionately sucking on my face while we are on a morning walk out in the bush

Gracie baby! ?

A photo posted by Laura Ellison (@lauraellison) on

Grace love on this mornings walk ?

A photo posted by Laura Ellison (@lauraellison) on

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.