In a dramatic encounter captured on camera, a protective rhino mother took on a herd of 15 elephants to defend her calf.
Despite being outnumbered, the mother rhino fearlessly stood her ground before charging at the elephants, sending them fleeing in all directions.
The intense standoff was photographed by carpenter Martin Meyer, who witnessed the event while visiting a national park in South Africa.
According to Meyer, the confrontation occurred in mid-January when a group of elephants, including a matriarch, younger elephants, and subadult bulls, approached the rhino and her calf.
“When the elephants were about 20 meters away, the mother rhino suddenly sprinted toward them, with her calf close behind,” Meyer described. The elephants, caught off guard, scattered in a cloud of dust.
After recovering from the shock, the elephant herd regrouped and slowly advanced toward the mother and her calf, seemingly trying to intimidate them. Some younger bulls even circled the pair, adding to the tension.
For over three minutes, the rhino mother and the matriarch of the elephant herd stared each other down. The standoff ended when the rhino let out a low snort and walked over the hill with her calf.
Though the length of the mother rhino’s horn is unknown, white rhinos can have horns that grow over a meter and a half long.
Female white rhinos can weigh up to two tonnes, while fully grown female African elephants can weigh nearly three tonnes.
Despite the size difference, the rhino mother’s determination to protect her young was enough to send the larger elephants into retreat.
