It is with such immense sadness that I have to share the news that little Raekie passed away during the early hours of yesterday morning.

All of your beautiful prayers and thoughts that we received were not in vain; I do believe it strengthened her and my team during her final hours, as she continued to be surrounded by love and compassion.

I am thankful for the endless devotion of all of the team; I know how broken each one of their hearts is right now, including mine. It is traumatic to experience the death of what has become like a family member to each of us.

Dr. Rogers completed the autopsy this morning but due to her previous bacterial infection, there was severe damage to her organs -specifically the digestive system – which unfortunately did not have time to recover.

We have battled with Raekie’s bacterial infection since her rescue and have, with the guidance of our wildlife vets, treated her with numerous antibiotics over the past months.

RIP, sweet little Raekie.

It is now imperative that we focus on Mopane, to ensure we monitor the effect that Raekie’s passing may have on him. Currently, he shows an excellent bill of health; he has continued to drink well, which we are very relieved to see.

We are not sure how Mopane is feeling inside, but no doubt he will mourn Raekie’s passing. We allowed some time for him to be with her after she passed and he lay down close to her.

I would like to share my sincere gratitude to everyone’s kind thoughts and support. Please continue with the positive messages and prayers. They help each one of us to deal with our broken hearts. Our wonderful followers are part of our family, and we know that you will feel hurt and loss as much as we do.

Thank you for both the emotional and financial support you have given Raekie over the past six months.