THE BABY RHINO WITH MRS KERNEY'S DAUGHTER AND TWO PET DOGS.




Initials RM/V/JF/K



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Background: MANY PEOPLE CONSIDER THE RHINOCEROS JUST ABOUT THE UNFRIENDLIEST CREATURE ON EARTH, BUT THE WIFE OF THE GAME WARDEN OF KENYA'S NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK, MRS YUALLAN KERNEY, HAS A PET RHINO THAT COULD SCARCELY BE FRIENDLIER. IT HAS TO BE ADMITTED, HOWEVER, THAT MRS KERNEY'S PET IS ONLY ABOUT THREE WEEKS OLD -- AND REGARDS HER AS ITS MOTHER.

THE KERNEY FAMILY CALL THEIR PET "HURIA" -- WHICH IS SIMPLY "RHINO" IN THE KIKUYU LANGUAGE. THREE WEEK AGO, THE TINY RHINO WAS SPOTTED BY A GAME SCOUT IN THE REMOTE AREA OF TSAVO. HE REPORTED THAT THE BABY WAS WITHOUT ITS MOTHER -- A HIGHLY UNUSUAL EVENT, AS RHINOS ALWAYS JEALOUSLY GUARD THEIR YOUNG.

A SEARCH PARTY LATER FOUND THE RHINO, AND HER DEAD MOTHER NEARBY. NEWLY BORN, THE BABY WAS VERY WEAK, AND IT WAS ONLY WITH HIGHLY SKILLED NURSING THAT SHE WAS SAVED. MRS KERNEY WAS ASSISTED AS "NURSEMAID AND MOTHER" TO THE RHINO BY HER FOUR-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, MAUREEN. AS A RESULT, HURIA WILL SCARCELY LET HER "FOSTER PARENTS" OUT OF HER SIGHT.

NOW TWENTY-FOUR DAYS OLD, HURIA WEIGHTS 70 POUNDS (154 KILOGRAMS). HOWEVER, IN ABOUT FOUR YEARS TIME SHE'LL WEIGHT AT LEAST ONE TON. AND LONG BEFORE THEN THE KERNEY FAMILY WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER A LESS INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR PET -- GROWN INTO WHAT ARE VERITABLE "TANKS" OF THE ANIMAL WORLD.