Lions think they can take down a rhino; boy, were they wrong

Lions usually know better than to take on a massive white rhino. They are said to know their limitations. But that didn’t stop a trio of lions at Kruger National Park in South Africa from trying.

The end result was the male lion nearly getting gored by the rhino.

Safari guide Jordan Davidson shared video of the unique encounter and shared it with Latest Sightings.

The rhino walked right up to where a male and two female lions were lounging about. It probably didn’t see them right away, but when it did, it took a defensive stance.

The first female got up and relocated. When an opportunity presented itself, the second female leaped up on the rhino’s rear.

“It didn’t even take a second for the lioness to realize that she was in over her head,” Latest Sightings reported. “She immediately let go and abandoned ship…The now very grumpy rhino was turning around to face them.

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“With both lionesses out of the picture, the only thing that stood in the rhino’s way was the poor male lion! Having a stare down with an animal that is bigger than some family-sized cars can only be daunting, but amazingly the lion’s first instinct wasn’t to run!

“No, the lion walked right up to the rhino to meet it head-on! This was unquestionably brave, but considering just how long the rhino’s horn was, it didn’t seem like the greatest of ideas.”

Hardly. The video tells the story.

“Without much surprise, the male lion ended up learning the same lesson as the female just before him, but not before the rhino tried stabbing at it, twice! And only missing marginally both times!”

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It was a close call, no doubt.

The first female followed the rhino as it wandered off, but any thoughts about her trying to attack where quickly dashed.

Photo courtesy of Latest Sightings.