This is the part 6 of fight in the wild series. Part 5 was a fierce battle between Western Lowland Gorilla Vs Grizzly Bear. The first part involved a fighting Cheetah Vs African Lion whereas in the second part, we Spotted Hyena wrestled Grey Wolf. The third part was king of a stalemate between Hippopotamus and Bull Shark. The fourth part was a decisive Eagle victory against the larger Vulture.
Let’s begin today with two, rather calm, yet powerful Herbivores, Rhino and elephant.
Rhinoceros, or Rhino, and elephants are incredibly powerful herbivores who would not probably fight each other randomly. Today we look at a hypothetical situation where a cranky Rhino is battling a mighty Elephant. Let’s first start with Rhino’s features.
- Rhinoceroses are mighty, herbivorous mammals identified by their characteristic horned snouts.
- The white rhino has an immense body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. Females weigh 1,600 kg (4,000 lb) and males 2,400 kg (5,000 lb). The head-and-body length is 3.5–4.6 m (11–15 ft) and the shoulder height is 1.8–2 m (5.9–6.6 ft) where as an adult black rhinoceros stands 1.50–1.75 m (59–69 in) high at the shoulder and is 3.5–3.9 m (11–13 ft) in length.[14] An adult weighs from 850 to 1,600 kg (1,870 to 3,530 lb), exceptionally to 1,800 kg (4,000 lb), with the females being smaller than the males.
- Adult rhinoceros have no real predators in the wild, other than humans. Young rhinos can however fall prey to big cats, crocodiles, African wild dogs, and hyenas.
- Rhinoceros horns do not contain any bone but are made only of keratin – the same substance that makes human hair and fingernails. Rhinos are found in parts of Africa and parts of Asia, and are amongst the most endangered of all animals on the Earth.
- Rhinos can run at a speed of 55km per hour.
Elephants:
- Elephants are the largest living terrestrial animals. African bush elephants are the largest species, with males being 304–336 cm (10 ft 0 in–11 ft 0 in) tall at the shoulder with a body mass of 5.2–6.9 t (5.7–7.6 short tons) and females standing 247–273 cm (8 ft 1 in–8 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulder with a body mass of 2.6–3.5 t (2.9–3.9 short tons).
- The skeleton of the elephant is made up of 326–351 bones. The vertebrae are connected by tight joints, which limit the backbone’s flexibility. African elephants have 21 pairs of ribs, while Asian elephants have 19 or 20 pairs.
- An elephant’s skull is resilient enough to withstand the forces generated by the leverage of the tusks and head-to-head collisions. The back of the skull is flattened and spread out, creating arches that protect the brain in every direction. The skull contains air cavities (sinuses) that reduce the weight of the skull while maintaining overall strength. These cavities give the inside of the skull a honeycomb-like appearance. The cranium is particularly large and provides enough room for the attachment of muscles to support the entire head. The lower jaw is solid and heavy. Because of the size of the head, the neck is relatively short to provide better support.
- The trunk, or proboscis, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, although in early fetal life, the upper lip and trunk are separated. The trunk is elongated and specialised to become the elephant’s most important and versatile appendage. It contains up to 150,000 separate muscle fascicles, with no bone and little fat.
- Most elephants have a top speed of 25km per hour.
In the wild, elephants and rhinos co-exist happily surviving together and not disturbing each other’s territory. However, since we are talking about a hypothetical fight today, let’s have a Rhino Vs Elephant fight.
Before they begin the fight, let’s keep humans out of this. Our Rhino’s horns and elephant’s trunk is untouched by the evil humans in ths first.
As mentioned above, elephants are must larger and heavier than rhinos. Both animals can attack with brute force, have incredible stamina and are equally intelligent.
The elephant would use its tusks and feet to attack but the rhino would possibly have the upper hand. A rhino can run at up to 55 km/h. With this speed the rhino would be able to strike first with it’ sharp horn of solid keratins. The elephant won’t be able to recover from a direct hit and probably collapse. Rhino will win. However, if they are standing nearby and Rhino doesn’t have a chance to speed up, elephant will crush it after a fierce battle of the horns.
I am leaning towards a victory of speed, Rhino would kill an elephant if they fight in an open land.
