The Rhinoceros Pays the Price for Its Foolish Actions When Easily Overpowered by an Elephant.
Challenging a fierce elephant, the rhinoceros quickly learns a costly lesson (Video: PW).
The rhinoceros is one of the largest land animals in the natural world. They possess incredible self-defense capabilities, often likened to a “tank”, making even lions, crocodiles, or hyenas think twice before approaching.
However, when a rhinoceros faces an elephant, all of these factors become irrelevant. A rare video capturing the encounter between these two species in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, proves this point.
In the clip, the rhinoceros approaches the elephant as if to challenge it, despite the significant size difference. Even when the elephant shows extreme anger, the rhinoceros not only does not back down but also charges forward with its horn pointed at the elephant.
In an instant, the elephant uses its superior strength to knock down the opponent. Not stopping there, the elephant pierces through the aggressive rhinoceros’s thick skin with its sharp tusks, causing the animal to writhe in pain.
At this point, the rhinoceros finally flees in fear to find an escape route.
The rhinoceros is among the few animals that cannot be hunted in Africa, but they are still no match for elephants.
Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is a mammal of the order Perissodactyla that inhabits regions of East and Central Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
An adult black rhinoceros stands about 1.5 meters tall at the shoulder and measures approximately 3 to 3.65 meters in length. Mature rhinoceroses can weigh up to 1360 kg, with females being noticeably smaller and lighter.
The rhinoceros is the second largest land herbivore, surpassed only by elephants. Besides their massive size, they also have incredibly thick skin, often described as a living tank.
Their weapons are the horns at the tip of their snouts, with the front horn being larger and measuring up to 71 cm. When attacking, rhinoceroses typically lower their heads and charge, using their horns to push opponents back or toss them into the air.
Despite this, rhinoceroses have a relatively gentle nature and seldom initiate attacks on other animals. Instead, they tend to flee from conflicts rather than confront them.
In the video clip, it seems the rhinoceros felt threatened or was protecting a young one, which led it to challenge a larger animal.
For many years, the black rhinoceros has been listed as critically endangered due to excessive hunting by humans.
