The White Rhinos of Pretoria, Battle at Rietvlei.
“Yesterday morning a small group of White Rhinos did battle at Rietvlei… It is reported that the battle continued all day… “
I would never make a newspaper man… I captured a few photos yesterday of Rhinos doing battle with each other… these thrusts and parry’s are never meant to do harm but when a few tons of armour plated beasts push each other around it looks very dramatic and dangerous, I suspect this was merely a battle of wills or dominance, but it did continue on and off for the whole day… then again maybe one of the ladies was nearing the right time and this was a battle for her favours… who knows with nature.??? but it was good to watch…
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 
It must have been something to see. Wonderful photos.
Thanks Maralee a special occasion…
Fantastic series, Rob!
Thanks Inga… this was something I had not witnessed before… a great experience…
Surprised to see that we have rhinos left to photograph. Great photos.
At the rate at which they are being decimated in Africa, who knows how long photos of this nature will be possible… the misconceptions of the worth of the horn may be the downfall of this specie… so whilst I can record what I can I will… and to think ones finger nail has as much good as the horn… sad isn’t it…
All I want for Christmas is a rhino…… great photos…I especially love your interpretation of what is going on… it is reassuring to see that I am not the only one who adds my own script to photo scenes. Keeping taking those shots 🙂
Thank you… some photos and sequences lend themselves to an interpretation calling for a script… others not… I wish I got more..
That’s pretty impressive 😉 You did a wonderful job as a graphic reporter
Think someone will give me a job and pay me to do this..??? I can only dream… like your cakes… so near yet so far…
Hehe 😉
Good grief – how close were you? You are so incredibly lucky to live in a place where you can see nature at it’s finest! Fantastic pictures 😉
I was probably closer than I should have been when there’s 4 tons of animal pushing each other around… but then you know how the paparazzi are… want to get in your face… that’s me…
Amazing images! I always find the subjects you get to photograph amazing!
Thank you… every now and then I forget how lucky I am…
What wonderful, beautiful images….how amazing to be there and see that………just awesome….and I loved the captions 🙂
Thanks it was a great experience…. not seen everyday…
Fantastic photos, bdt. It looks as though you were close enough to be the referee. 🙂
At one stage I thought my new car was going to get a dent from a reversing fighter… moved very quickly… but you know what a photographer is like … want to be as close to the action as possible…
…so it isn’t only humans who turn to battle if they disagree with another human…..
If you ask me this was a battle over a woman… who was the strongest to have the right to breed with her…. I have other photos where every now and then she stuck her nose in between them as if to try and stop the fight… or maybe she was just popping in to remind them what the winner won…
So unlike humans the strongest wins her favour… unlike humans where the good looking get the heads up… LOL but it did make me think of the story I was told of two woman pushing each other in the supermarket with trolleys… LOL
Meglio non essere tra loro però…
Bellissime foto, fantastiche
Pat
Thank you for the comment…I appreciate it… yes to be one of those Rhinos could be painful….
LOVE this bulldog!!!! What a wonderful way to start my day ~ xxoo RL
ps: have not checked on beaches yet… but another storm predicted (Noreaster) when I am due to travel 5 hours for medical consult this week ~ maybe should move to your land!! 🙂
Damn you can do without that surely… what have you all been doing wrong that you’re being punished…
Yes it is much safer here.. let me know when you’re coming and I’ll arrange the rest…
😉 I keep wondering too…must be getting prepared for something big in the next life !! ~ Ok – will give you some notice when I’m running away to south Africa to join you and Linda in a ‘whole new world’ ~ xo 🙂
LOVE THIS!!! What an amazing way to start my day ~ xxxoo
It was certainly a way to start my day on Saturday morning early… and then they entertained me most of the day… wonderful experience… Thanks Robyn… hugs to you…
Reminds me of two woman I saw at the mall the other day, fighting over a parking 🙂
I received a phone call today from a friend that had looked at this post and said he was in the supermarket and there were to two women doing the same thing with trolleys… Maybe they misinterpreted my title and decided if they do their battle they might make the Bulldogsturf News Paper as well…LOL (major LOL)
Since I’m blonde and dizzy, I get to ask this question. Why are they brown but called White Rhinos? Are you just trying to mess with us? 😉
(Laughing my head off) Lorna would I mess with you..?? with your sharp tongue… never…
There are two Rhinos in South Africa.. The white and the black…
The white Rhino’s name comes from the Wide grass eating mouth, in Afrikaans it was called the “Wyd” and old Dutch “Wijde” both mean wide, and this transformed itself to White by the English that could not say the word or misinterpreted it as being “white”.
The other or “Black Rhino” is of similar colour to the white, but it is a browser and not a grazer. It is also far more aggressive… and is sometimes known as the hooked lip Rhino as its mouth is almost pointed… The name Black comes from the other being named White….
But just as a bit of trivia… if a Rhino charges you … don’t get on your knees to see if it is a square or pointed lip Rhino, so that you can tell your mates which one charged you… CLIMB a tree and at high speed… and if there are no trees… hope those that you are with run slower than you….
Thanks for the info and the tip. But not to worry. I won’t be in a situation where I have to worry about either type of rhino charging me. First, I always pay in cash and second, I don’t hang with critters that have horns they may want to skewer me with.
How I would love to have you come along on a walk in the bush….
Thanks for the question, Lorna. I was wondering the same thing.
Well now you have the answers when can I book a safari for you and your families… I will act as the tour guide…????
I wouldn’t want to be pushed by one of those!
No me neither… had to move my car quickly a few times… they have no reverse lights…
You are one brave man!
…your “clik” is fantastic!
🙂
Thank you…
And now it’s your turn to astound me with what’s in your backyard 🙂 Great shots, such understated aggression. i’m always amazed at rhinoceroses – how precious they are: more than anything else they don’t look as though they belong in this world!
Very prehistoric the Rhino, with a weight like they have they were extremely nimble in their sparring, obviously they have moves that they try to get into for a win but the sparring was fantastic to watch…
A bit of Rhino vanity, do you think, in doing anything to avoid disfiguring the horn?
Thanks for these tremendous photos, Bulldogsturf. I get such a thrill seeing them – and knowing the blogger took them makes them more precious.
Your comment about people not taking the time to watch…so true. There’s incredible things to learn within a few inches of us if we sit quietly. I get a kick out of the personality that shines through in some of these observations.
Thankfully, we did plenty of watching on our Soul Safari in Madikwe. We saw the Black Rhino with their young. We saw lionesses ready to have Wildebeests for dinner. What mixed feelings when the Wildebeests caught wind and ran. Who did we want to be victors?
In Northern Canada, I watched two bull moose run at each other and smash their great rack of horns along with their heads. The sound is horrid – it’s hard to imagine they survive. I’m sure their heads ache afterwards – possibly with concussion!
How nice to see that you are following me… and what a lovely comment. Madikwe is a wonderful park and to visit there magnificent… The 75000 ha park makes finding the big five so much easier than my favourite Kruger National Park where one rides around 2 000 000 ha in search of what there is to see…
But as I was brought up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) the searching is part of the fun…. but when I’m unable to get there I visit the smaller parks where sightings like this one sometimes just fall into your lap…
I often will take a half a day at the smaller parks and allow the game and birds to come to me… but I enjoy nothing more than sitting in a car with my Grand Children and for an hour or two just observe Zebra or what ever else is around… I can point out and teach them all I learnt from an old African Gentleman in Rhodesia. Zezeba taught me all about the different trees and animals, what to expect from them and which plants I can use for differing ailments…. and now to impart that knowledge to my next generations gives me so much pleasure…
So few people know how the family units are made up and how the hierarchy within the family groups work… to be able to sit and watch it all happen in front of you, is a pleasure I enjoy… I think my kids get tired of it all sometimes and say yes Dad just to keep me happy…
I would love to have the experience of watching moose doing battle… I’ve seen it on TV by there is nothing like observing the real thing….Thanks again for such a lovely comment and I hope I haven’t bored you with my long winded reply…
That must have been really interesting to watch. Nice pics!
I have never before seen a serious push around of these animals and this was seriously interesting… watching the moves to try for the upper hand … wonderful… one can almost equate it to fencing… the epees being their horns…
I know I’ve said it before but I really do hope you know how lucky you are to see all this amazing wildlife. We have birds and bats! Love seeing this – thanks for sharing.
Yes I do realise how lucky my whole life has been… growing up in a small village surrounded by wild life… being a Land Surveyor and spending so much time in almost virgin bush amid wild life… and now living in a country that has all this to see, for those who want to… Yes I’m lucky, and often when talking to others living here, wonder why they never seem to get the time to appreciate the absolute relaxation that comes with sitting and watching nature…
These are amazing and dramatic photos! So, sounds like they hold a grudge.
This was incredible to watch… not that it appeared too intense or serious… but a wonderful display of forceful fencing, the attempt to get the upper hand (or should I say Horn) not something I’ve witnessed before…
can’t believe they go at it all day long, what a great experience!
They just never seemed to tire… on and on… I had to move on so I don’t know who won or who gave up… but it was magic to watch….
Brilliant photos – they are HUGE!
They probably both weight at least 2 tons each… when they shuffle around in battle you keep the engine running and be ready to move in case they back up into you…
Love the caption lol
Thanks Boomiebol…