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There is no rest for the weary. In this video, a poor mother buffalo has just given birth to a calf when danger arises. You’d think if there was one time a person could rest without the fear of danger, it would be right after giving birth. However, this mother buffalo had no such luck. And she had to be prepared to fight if necessary.
Aggressive Rhino Sighting in Kruger National Park
The next YouTube video posted takes us to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. This video was shared by the Maasai Sightings YouTube page. This channel also regularly shares footage from the Maasai Mara in Kenya, Africa as well. They share a short description of what happened in the video below.
“With eyes located on opposite sides of the head, rhinos don’t have good binocular vision like humans and other primates do, and also lack color vision. The rhino probably thought that the buffalo was another black rhino and possibly a threat, however, when he got closer he seemed to change his mind on attacking the cow. Probably the rhino realized that the buffalo cow was not a threat and proceeded on his way.”
Rhino Vs. Buffalo
At the start of the video, we see a field of buffalo that is grazing in Southern Africa. Immediately, the video editors commented, “The rhino wanted to fight, but the buffalo cow was too concerned with her calf.”
Suddenly, at 21 seconds, we see this rhino emerge from the treeline and go straight for this buffalo mother. She faces off at this rhino, ready to fight if she needs to. “Rhinos can’t see a motionless animal at a distance of 30 meters.”
Another buffalo quickly comes to back this mother buffalo up if she needs it. The rhino eventually wanders off.
How Many Rhinos Live in Africa?
Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) of the order Perissodactyla reside in both Africa and Asia. These are large mammals that can weigh anywhere from 1,765-7,716 pounds (800-3,500 kilograms). They can live healthy, long lives of up to 50 years in the wild.
And despite the poor eyesight that we heard of in the section above, these large animals can run up to 30 miles per hour. You might think this would give them the perfect opportunity to chase prey down; however, rhinos are herbivores, which means they only eat plant matter. So, they can be fast enough to beat you at the salad bar!
It is estimated there are over 26,000 rhinos left in their population. According to the International Rhino Foundation, there are approximately 16,803 left in 11 countries in Africa.
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