Elephant vs Rhino: Who Would You Bet On? We've Got the Video and It's Not Even Close
I know what we all think of when we consider the greatest heavyweight fights of all time.
No, not Liston vs. Patterson. Not Ali vs. Frazier. Clearly, we’re all thinking about elephant vs. rhino.
And we have the fight for you. Spoiler alert: The winner isn’t who you might think it is.
Now, it’s worth noting that, when it comes to approximate human deaths, large wilderness beasts aren’t even close to being near the top of the deadliness chart. Mosquitoes kill roughly a million people each year, snakes about 100,000, and even tsetse flies about 10,000, according to Statista researcher John Elflein.
Among the massive creatures that start to inspire fear in the average person, crocodiles are the deadliest at 1,000 human deaths. But then there are 500 each for hippos and elephants.
So, who wins in a viral showdown posted Thursday by X account “Nature is Amazing?” At least this time, the elephant.
In the video, the elephant — which has a size advantage — begins by backing the rhino up and staring the creature down.
About 30 seconds into the 50-second heavyweight bout, the rhino takes the first jab with its horn, however.
Then, the elephant uses its size advantage to first back the rhino up, then turn it on its side.
By the time the first-round clock struck 50 seconds, the rhino was running away and the elephant had scored a victory.
Rhino vs Elephant pic.twitter.com/DWHZzRBFYO
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) December 26, 2024
One user postulated that this was a result of better training on the part of the elephant.
“Ouch! I love elephants, but this was not a fair fight,” they wrote in response.
“The elephant knew EXACTLY how to manoever (from years of playfighting with peers) and this poor rhino had no clue what he was up against.”
Ouch! I love elephants, but this was not a fair fight. The elephant knew EXACTLY how to manoever (from years of playfighting with peers) and this poor rhino had no clue what he was up against. 🙁
— Oaken Field (@Oakandfield) December 27, 2024
However, it’s also worth noting that the rhino didn’t exactly play to its fighting strengths in the matchup.
As the official website of the Kariega Game Reserve in South Africa notes, if the rhino decided on a different strategy, it would likely be the winner.
“Both animals can attack with brute force, have incredible stamina and are equally intelligent — which is perhaps why they don’t typically fight!” they wrote in a post several years back.
“The elephant would use its tusks and feet to attack but the rhino would possibly have the upper hand,” the post added.
“A rhino can run at up to 50 km/h [31 miles per hour]. With this considerable speed and agility the rhino would be able to strike first with it’s incredibly sharp horn of solid keratins,” the organization observed.
“The elephant would struggle to recover from a direct hit, particularly if the rhino managed to penetrate it’s under belly,” the post continued. “So, we would be bet on rhino!”
But, hey, perhaps this is an Ali-Frazier situation after all. Remember, in their three fights, Joe Frazier won the first one — and then proceeded to lose the next two. Rematch, anyone?
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