White Rhino Battle: bull attacks mother and calf
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Published 2019-01-05
Were they OK?
Yes. A little after this was filmed, both mother and calf were spotted grazing peacefully close to the road.
What just happened?
This appears to have been a territorial dispute. The clue is in the spray-marking which the male does 40 seconds into the clip. Male white rhinos are solitary and fiercely territorial. Females in contrast are not, and can often wander widely across territory claimed by different males. In the game reserve this was filmed a successful breeding programme over several decades has led to the population growing to over 1500 rhinos, and making territorial skirmishing quite common.