Angry Rhino

[Brent in Az]

Hope they have good insurance.

 

[Andrew62]

Without question, the best thing to do when a rhino is smashing your vehicle is to just sit there and take it all in!!

 

[Brent in Az]

I would have hit the gas pedal, but maybe they figured they would rather be YouTube stars

 

[Accidental Villain]

I would have hit the gas pedal, but maybe they figured they would rather be YouTube stars

Oh well, hit the gas you say..sure,, makes sense rather than standing their groud, these guys are on a road...but, what if you are not..

In Kenya (if bored, not having any particular going on) visiting some of the rhinos we saw to politly say hello and check out its mood and whatnot was sort of standard operating procedure. Those things can be insanely grumpy.

On one of those occations with our ultra stiff suspensioned open top landy pointing into really bumpy terrain (we obviously did not know). Pushed the right buttons and was immediately charged, pedal to the metal and we caugth some serious air. It must have looked hillarious. I have a clear frozen moment recollection of howering with also one of our trackers, almost a yard over the back of the landy looking down at this absolutely crazy rhino smashing up the rear of our landy and we could not pick up enhough speed.
We did not do that again without checking the surrounding terrain.
Wish I had a GoPro. A proper rhino rodeo.

 

[BigGame]

I remember my first rhinoceros encounter clearly.

In Namibia, my Professional Hunter spotted a female rhino with two calves. I followed him through the bush, closing the distance step by careful step. Then we stopped.

Fifteen yards away.

The rhinos still hadn't noticed us. The female grazed while the calves stayed close. My PH raised his camera, but I was focused on the fact that I could smell them. We were so close and yet undetected.

At that distance, a wild rhino that massive is more than something you see. You hear it, smell it, and feel its presence. You realize you're in its world.

My PH knew exactly how to immortalize this moment. He leaned close into me and whispered, “I only have to run faster than you.”

It was both funny and completely serious.

I followed his every instruction. We remained undetected and eventually slipped away without being noticed.

The encounter lasted only minutes, but it changed how I viewed Africa's wildlife. Standing fifteen yards from a rhinoceros in the open, I understood that I was the visitor and the animal was in charge.

The photographs captured the moment. But they could never capture the pucker factor.

 

[Brent in Az]

 

[BourbonTrail]

Black rhinos are definitely a different level crazy. The one I saw in Zim was calm but completely “switched on” as @Red Leg puts it. Definitely qualifies as a dangerous game animal. I like Teddy Roosevelt’s description of them as “truculent.”

 

[Ontario Hunter]

We spotted the two bull buffalo on their early morning walkabout. My PH suspected they would drop into a dry brushy wash and follow it to water so we maneuvered to cut them off. The sticks were up and we could hear them coming through the thick stuff, the occasional top of acacia swaying. Then out they stepped at less than thirty yards ... a rhino calf in front of its mother! "Don't move!" "Don't worry, I won't." No place to run to. No tree to climb. Nothing to do but stand still and act non threatening and hope we didn't have to shoot. The big gal stopped and stared at us, then away they ran ... with our buffalo right behind them. We followed the bulls for several miles dodging rhinos all the way. At one point eight together walked into us. They are something to see up close and personal. I don't know why but being close to buffalo has never made me nervous. Or grizzly bears. But rhinos unsettled me. Not really fear, but "extreme apprehension." We pushed up the bulls one more time, again with only a running shot possible. While driving back to the farm complex our tracker somehow spotted the bulls laying in a small acacia thicket 300 yards away. It was fairly open and we all scanned with binoculars for many minutes to make sure no more rhino were in the area. Odds were not in our favor but we made the scant cover work. Managed to get to 65 yards before they busted. Screw it! This time I took the running shot. Day four and I was ready for something else. Good hit and we had him down in less than fifteen minutes. Saw no more rhino that day (or any since come to think of it) and I was fine with that.

 

[ivoryharbor]

We spotted the two bull buffalo on their early morning walkabout. My PH suspected they would drop into a dry brushy wash and follow it to water so we maneuvered to cut them off. The sticks were up and we could hear them coming through the thick stuff, the occasional top of acacia swaying. Then out they stepped at less than thirty yards ... a rhino calf in front of its mother! "Don't move!" "Don't worry, I won't." No place to run to. No tree to climb. Nothing to do but stand still and act non threatening and hope we didn't have to shoot. The big gal stopped and stared at us, then away they ran ... with our buffalo right behind them. We followed the bulls for several miles dodging rhinos all the way. At one point eight together walked into us. They are something to see up close and personal. I don't know why but being close to buffalo has never made me nervous. Or grizzly bears. But rhinos unsettled me. Not really fear, but "extreme apprehension." We pushed up the bulls one more time, again with only a running shot possible. While driving back to the farm complex our tracker somehow spotted the bulls laying in a small acacia thicket 300 yards away. It was fairly open and we all scanned with binoculars for many minutes to make sure no more rhino were in the area. Odds were not in our favor but we made the scant cover work. Managed to get to 65 yards before they busted. Screw it! This time I took the running shot. Day four and I was ready for something else. Good hit and we had him down in less than fifteen minutes. Saw no more rhino that day (or any since come to think of it) and I was fine with that.

Rhinos have a way of turning every stalk into a whole different kind of hunt. Buffalo may be the target, but that much surprise company would have my nerves humming too.

 

[Red Leg]

White rhino are very different than those perpetually hostile black things. This is a South African game ranch, but it is not a zoo and his enclosure was around 10K acres. Liked to come up to camp for an evening bite.