Black rhinos are increasingly rare due to their endangered status, and can make for an amazing sighting. If the rhino doesn’t take such a liking to tourists, it can also make for a rather terrifying one.
For Sam, assistant lodge manager, and Andrew, farm manager, who captured this footage, their black rhino sighting took on a terrifying turn when the rhino charged at their car, and showed no sign of slowing down.
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Being so intimately close to nature can be an amazing experience, but it’s important to remember that these are still wild animals that will take action to defend themselves if they think it’s necessary.
A Short Calm Before The Storm
Black rhinos are particularly aggressive animals, often fighting each other, other animals, and even inanimate objects on occasion.
One reason for this, besides a temperament that makes them always ready to charge, is their poor eyesight. If they feel threatened by the presence of something large, like a car, that they potentially can’t see properly, then they’re more likely to try and charge it.
Due to their size, weight, and readiness to use their sharp horns to defend themselves, most predators will leave rhinos alone. Younger ones that haven’t reached their full adulthood might be targeted by lions and crocodiles, but this is rare.
Despite having no natural predator, these animals still need to keep a wary eye out for each other, as there are a high percentage die from fight-related wounds each year.
In The Way Of The Wrong Rhino
This bad-tempered individual took only the briefest moment before it decided to charge right at the vehicle. Sam told Latest Sightings that as they stopped to get a better view of the rhino, which they initially mistook for a large rock, the brakes squeaked and alerted it to their presence.
The rhino took significant offense to these squeaky brakes and charged the car almost instantly, causing Sam to drop the recording camera as Andrew attempted to put as much distance between himself and the charging animal as possible.
Luckily for Sam and Andrew, the rhino seemed to be more focused on scaring them away than trying to cause any damage. Sam said that it “stopped its charge and turned around about 20cm from the car door”.
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The Dangerous Side Of Nature
Encounters like these show the importance of being wary of these animals, no matter how calm or docile they might initially seem to be. For the rhino to go from being mistaken for a rock to charging the vehicle shows how quickly situations can change.
Luckily, this appeared to be a mock charge, which many animals use as a method of scaring away potential threats, but knowing the difference isn’t always easy, and it looked like this rhino was a very short distance away from damaging the vehicle and potentially injuring Sam and Andrew inside it.
Today, over 6,000 black rhinos remain in the wild. Their population has grown by over 1,000 since 2010. There are positive signs that they are slowly coming back to their range.
