A baby white rhino suckles its mother in a game reserve in southern Africa. A large bull rhino appears and within moments the atmosphere turns. The bull starts to spray-mark territory around the still suckling mother and calf. It then turns on the mother, to the evident terror of the calf. Then it attacks the calf. In the following moments the calf is thrown into the air by the bull, as its mother rushes to its aid. As the calf runs for cover, the bull turns on the mother, driving her backwards, then lifting her front legs clean off the ground. The battling pair bear down on cars of watching photographers prompting panicked retreat. Finally, as the terrified calf circles the battle, the mother makes a break for freedom and flees straight down the road away from the camera pursued by the bull
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.