Mother Rhino goes horn-to-horn with aggressive male to defend her calf
Nathan Newman was leading a tour through the Kapama Private Game Reserve in South Africa when he spotted the female white rhino with her young.
Tense footage shows the aggressive male, estimated to weigh 5,070lbs (2,300kg), beelining for the female causing a horn-on-horn collision between the behemoths.
Mr Newman, who works for Jabulani Safari, watched as the male then tried to drive off the three-year-old calf so it could mate with its mother.
With high-pitched squeals filling the air, the aggressor continues to chase the female around the savannah, despite it facing up to the older male valiantly.
She turns to face the male rhinoceros and doesn’t back down when he tries to put pressure on her.
The pair shuffle around with their eyes locked on each other and horns facing menacingly towards the other.
The mother rhinoceros refuses to give up and continues to battle with the male while her calf watches on.
Mr Newman, who filmed the footage on March 14, said: ‘I have never seen a rhino encounter to this extent in the six years of being a guide. I couldn’t believe the sheer aggression and tenacity from the male’s part.
‘I believe the male white rhino was trying to put the female under pressure in order to push the calf away, allowing the female to go back into heat and allowing the male to then mate with her.
‘By the end of the whole interaction the female and calf had started moving off but were closely followed by the male as he continued to try and put pressure on the female.
‘From what we could see there were no injuries on either of them.’
Calves are weaned at about two-and-a-half years but may remain with their mother up for up to three years until the next calf is born and female calves may stay longer.
White rhinoceros, which can weigh between 3,050lbs (1,400kg) and 7,900lbs (3,590kg), are the only of the five rhino species that aren’t endangered but are now classified as Near Threatened with just 18,000 in existence.
