Royals get to know wild side on India safari

FOR a couple so passionate about conservation, it was the equivalent of a trip to Disneyland.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could not conceal their joy as they fed baby rhinos and elephants and went on safari during a visit to a reserve in Assam, northeast India.

They also disclosed the reason they had left their two children at home – not because of the heat or the long flight, but because Prince George is too naughty.

On the fourth day of their tour of India, the royal couple spent the day at Kaziranga National Park, home to elephants, rhinos, and tigers but also a magnet for poachers, who are putting the survival of the endangered species in the region at risk.

They were taken to the park’s centre for wildlife rehabilitation and conservation, which cares for orphaned and stranded animals before releasing them back into the wild where possible.

In a field where baby elephants and rhinos were being raised together, the duke and duchess were invited to feed the animals, and did not need to be asked twice.

The duchess, wearing a pink patterned dress from TopShop, approached the herd with large bottles of milk, and the elephants bellowed with impatience as she and park rangers approached.

The duke and duchess fed the animals in turn, crouching over the smallest to make sure they were well fed before turning their attention to older animals.

The young ones are fed formula milk every few hours with added coconut milk.

One of the youngest was Murphuli, an elephant which was just four weeks old when she was found alone in a tea garden last October.

But it was Dunga, the smallest and newest resident, who really won the heart of the duchess.

The baby rhino was found alone during a patrol and when rangers failed to locate his mother, he was taken to the centre.

The royal couple gave the animals comforting rubs on their trunks and snouts as they fed them.

Wildlife Trust of India chief executive Vivek Menon said: “The duke said he would have spent the whole day here if he could.”

Earlier, the couple had made a 7am start as they clambered into an open-sided 4x4 to be taken on safari.

Joining them was a ranger armed with a rifle loaded with tranquilliser ammunition.

As they pulled away, the duchess squeezed her husband’s thigh and said, “We’re all safe”, and both grinned.

The 4x4 had chilled bottles of water and face-cloths tucked into the seat pockets.

The duke quickly spotted a rhino mother and her baby wading in a marsh in the distance.

“Oh wow,” the duchess gasped.

They both then took turns to look through their binoculars.

At one point, a huge rhino blocked the road ahead.

“This is amazing!” the duchess said. “It’s amazing to be this close,” the duke replied, before a ranger called out loudly to scare the rhino off the road.

After almost an hour on safari, the couple arrived at the Bimoli Anti-Poaching Camp in the centre of the park.

The duchess, a keen photographer, had a camera with her, ready to take pictures on the second half of the safari, without the media present.

The duchess – now wearing grey Zara jeans, a spotted shirt and takkies – and the duke were both wearing cotton scarves presented by local people.

On a visit to a village, the duchess disclosed that she and the duke had left the children at home not because of the heat or the long flight, but because Prince George was too naughty.