Esmé is a rhino of many triumphs and now, she also might just be a rhino of linguistic skills after an adorable video captured her seemingly understanding Afrikaans!
Hoedspruit, South Africa (17 September 2023) — Esmé the rhino has come a long way from her days as a malnourished calf! Dubbed the darling of the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, Esmé is now the poster rhino for overcoming a tough start to life, health, adorableness and a few hidden skills.
A recent update of Esmé’s day-to-day adventures had onlookers captivated by a video of the rhino in her element—playing in the simplicity of her water trough, a favourite activity for the darling rhino.
While Esmé enjoying herself was a big part of why people loved the video, another reason was a little more curious…
Esmé seemed to respond to her curator’s questions and ques in Afrikaans!
When asked if she could show people how she plays with the water, the rhino began swishing from side to side.
While Esmé’s understanding of Afrikaans is only a cute coincidence, someone should probably let Charlize Theron know that there might just be room on the list of the ’44 people’ who still speak Afrikaans for a clever rhino.
More About Esmé
Esme was brought to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre in late 2017 as a very young calf who had not even turned a month old yet. After a lot of bottle feeding and care, she began to revive and grow from strength to strength, so much so that she became the surrogate big sister to baby Rhino Thaba.
by 