by Amateur photographer Loius Kok and wife Marthie were taking quiet shots of a mother black rhino and her calf when the ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs, one-tusked elephant suddenly appeared.
A male one-tusked elephant suddenly appeared and ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ the mother rhino. The peaceful scene suddenly turned into a ꜰɪᴇʀᴄᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ. “When the male elephant goes into a ʀᴀɢᴇ due to increased testosterone levels, it becomes extremely ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs and ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋs anything in its path,” Mr. Kok said. “The elephant ʀᴜsʜᴇᴅ to ᴋɴᴏᴄᴋ ᴅᴏᴡɴ the mother rhinoceros, causing it to roll many times on the ground and seriously ɪɴᴊᴜʀᴇᴅ.”
Musth is a condition that causes bull elephants’ hormones to spiral up to 60 times greater than normal – making them extremely ᴀɢɢʀᴇssɪᴠᴇ. The bull elephant – the world’s largest land animal, weighing up to 1,102 stone (7,000 kg) – quickly ꜰʟɪᴘᴘᴇᴅ the mother rhino onto her back.
The elephant kept rolling the defenceless rhino around in the dust, while ᴄʀᴜsʜɪɴɢ it repeatedly under its enormous weight – in a ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀᴛɪsɪɴɢ display of speed, ᴀɢɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʀᴜᴛᴀʟ power.
The rhinoceros became ᴇxʜᴀᴜsᴛᴇᴅ and lay on its back on the ground after the ʙʀᴜᴛᴀʟ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ from the male elephant. Once the male elephant had left, the couple say that the rhino calf – which was unharmed – timidly approached its mother.
Mr. Kok said: “The calf remained in the vicinity for some time, circling her mother and attempting repeatedly to help her up.”
The pair reported the ʙʀᴜᴛᴀʟ incident to the park management, who in turn confirmed it took TWO hours after the ꜰɪɢʜᴛ for the ɪɴᴊᴜʀᴇᴅ rhino to recover enough to stand up. Despite people thinking she had made a full recovery, the mother was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ just a few days after the photographed ꜰɪɢʜᴛ.
Elephants are known to have ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ rhinos many times (though interestingly and ᴛʀᴀɢɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ it has been handed over that the elephant society was ᴛᴏʀɴ ᴀᴘᴀʀᴛ by human ᴠɪᴄᴛɪᴍs. So when elephants ᴋɪʟʟ rhinoceros, humans are responsible).
