Rhino fights can sometimes be a battle to the death.
Everyone knows that nature can be cruel, but sometimes we need a reminder of just violent things can get with wild animals. Especially in South Africa where every day is a fight for survival. The white rhino is an extremely cranky animal that will fight anything and everything. When the mating season comes around, they get even more territorial than usual.
The two large males in today's video are amped up on testosterone and aching for a fight with one another over territory. Rhino fights are always dangerous because of those large horns and this fight ends up being more violent than others because of it.
As a vehicle full of tourists watches, one of the males backs the other into a bush before puncturing the other's side with his horn multiple times. It is hard to watch, but a brutal example of the type of fights that play out every day in the wildest parts of Africa.
The camera does cut off a bit abruptly, but it did not look good for the rhino on the receiving end of that barrage. Even with the brush obscuring much of the gory parts, you can tell the one male was on the receiving end of several punctures to the abdomen and chest area.
If you watch closely, it appears he stumbles a little as the more dominant male pushes him further into the brush as the camera cuts off. Considering how large those horns are, odds are not good for his survival even if he escapes.
This footage was taken in Hluhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa. The area is one of the few places one can go to see a white rhino in the wild anymore. Fortunately, this species is doing better than the northern white rhino subspecies which is on the brink of extinction right now.
While this may be difficult to watch, it is also a reminder that nature is not the way it is portrayed in the Disney movies. It is a bleak and dangerous existence that can end in the blink of an eye with a fight like this.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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