Jerome Delay/AP/ShutterstockJazz, a month-old abandoned giraffe, found a friend in Hunter the dog. However, last week, Hunter had to say goodbye to his pal.
When Jazz arrived at the Rhino Orphanage in Limpopo Province, South Africa, the unlikely pair bonded instantly, growing very close over the course of three weeks.
On Friday, December 6, Hunter seemed to realise something was wrong. As the baby giraffe began to falter, he remained by his side until he died.
Jerome Delay/AP/ShutterstockThe keepers at the orphanage explained Jazz collapsed due to a brain haemorrhage.
The orphanage wrote in a Facebook post:
The last two days before we lost him, Jazz started looking unstable on his legs and very dull, almost like he wasn’t registering everything. He suddenly collapsed and we could see blood starting to pool back into his eyes.
Jazz’s heart rate dropped and he showed neurological systems. His friend Hunter knew something was wrong as he suddenly stayed by the giraffe’s side again not going outside. Jazz took his last breath with Hunter and all his human mommies by his side.
After Jazz passed away, the loyal pooch would sit in front of his empty room for hours, having to routinely go to his carers for support.
Just when we thought it couldn't get any cuter, sweeter and more heart-warming, this happened.The bond and understanding between Jazz the giraffe and Hunter our AP Belgian Malinois is astonishing.#orphanedgiraffe #savingwildlife #wildliferescue #oddanimalcouples #interspeciesrelationships #animalbonds #malinois #antipoachingdogsMorongwane Game Heritage your little one is in good hands with Hunter
Posted by The Rhino Orphanage on Friday, November 22, 2019
The giraffe was found by a farmer just days after birth, dehydrated and alone. They called The Rhino Orphanage for help, where he was well looked after until he died.
The post added:
So we finally know that Jazz didn’t have a bad giraffe mother that left him, she just knew. As proven to us so many times before, nature’s mother’s know. But we still have to try every single time no matter how hard it is.
Over the past few weeks, Jazz and Hunter have been circulating the web as people online fell in love with them. The post announcing Jazz’s passing has more than 8,000 reacts and has been shared more than 1,000 times.
Jerome Delay/AP/ShutterstockPaying tribute to Hunter’s loyalty, the orphanage wrote: ‘Hunter is doing well. He stayed till the end and said his goodbyes. We will update everyone on his progress as he can now get back to training to be a tracking dog. He is eating well and playing with his brother again. Such a good boy.’
Such a good boy, indeed. RIP, Jazz.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.