Watch The Sighting Here:
Joe Gregory filmed the amusing interaction, and he sent his video and story to Latest Sightings. He filmed it at an undisclosed location in South Africa.
Mellow At The Wallow
Joe’s video begins peacefully enough. A white rhino was standing placidly near a mud wallow, while in the background, a small herd of elephants wandered by.
Leading the herd was a young elephant bull. As he noticed the rhino, he paused and plucked some grass to eat.
Ooh… A Stick!
Being young and curious, he noticed a stick on the ground and picked it up before closing in on the still, peacefully grazing rhino.
Where Did You Come From?
As the young bull closed in on the rhino, he raised the stick over his head. As he did so, the short-sighted rhino noticed the elephant, raising its head.
Showing Off
Seeing the rhino’s reaction, it looked like the elephant decided to show off. As it did, the rhino began to shuffle nervously, unsure what to make of the approaching stick-waving giant.
Meanwhile, the approaching elephant took his show to the next level and balanced the stick across his trunk.
Look At Me!
Then, as if demanding some attention from the rhino, the bull flared his ears, getting ever closer to the fidgety rhino.
Dropped
Just as he approached, the stick fell to the ground. Not ready to give up his plaything, he went to pick it up. Somehow, for the rhino, that was the last straw.
As the elephant retrieved his toy, the rhino lowered his head, raised his tail, and charged.
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Tables Turned
Suddenly, the elephant grew alarmed. With two tons of angry rhino fast approaching, he had to come up with a plan, and quickly!
Of course, the only thing he could use to defend himself was the stick clutched in his trunk. So, as the rhino got closer, the young bull lashed out with its stick-wielding trunk.
When the rhino saw the blur of movement ahead, it had second thoughts and brought its charge to an end.
The stick sailed through the air, landing a few metres to the side of the rhino. It seems the rhino heard the stick land and immediately swung his massive head toward the new threat.
Now! Why Was I Angry?
Of course, by the time the rhino had completed his turn, the source of the sound had already vanished. Still, he shuffled nervously and began backing away from the latest disturbance.
Subsequently, the elephant threw back his head, as if laughing at the rhino’s myopic confusion.
And with that, just as suddenly as the chaos erupted, calm returned to the mud wallow. As the video concludes, the rhino stands in quiet contemplation.
Musth Or Mischief
Observers suggested that the young elephant had entered an aggressive breeding phase known as musth. However, there are no visual cues to support this.
Bulls in musth secrete heavily from the temporal glands on either cheek, and there is no sign of this. Furthermore, musth is accompanied by a constant trickle of urine, which stains the hind legs. This, too, is not evident.
Additionally, it was the rhino that charged. Had a bull in musth done so, the rhino would have been in real trouble.
Therefore, it seems the short-sighted rhino mistook the young bull’s playfulness and curiosity for a genuine threat.
While conflict between the species is on record, this was most likely a simple misunderstanding.