Itchy rhino decides to use brother's backside as rubbing post

The white rhinoceros is one of Africa’s Big five animals as well as one of the continent’s most threatened species to date. The white rhino generally looks like a dangerous animal not to be messed with but on certain occasions these amazing creatures can surprisingly be just as funny and entertaining to watch. The video shows how these intimidating looking creatures can become playful while having a little fun in the mud.Show more

It was during a late afternoon safari in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, when we came across the magnificent sight of six white rhinos at a watering hole, busy drinking and wallowing in the mud. It was incredible to see so many rhinos together at once. The magnificent horns of these rhinos are the first striking feature that grabs your attention. The horn of a rhino is the only weapon of defence it has in nature and unfortunately their horns have also put them in a terrible battle for survival against constant human poaching. Watching these incredible animals going about their business in the wild was such a privilege. The group of rhinos were enjoying themselves in the mud, cooling down after a long hot day while getting rid of some pesky insects and flies on their skins. After a mud wallow, it is common practice for a rhino then to go find a rubbing post such as a tree or a rock, where they can scratch off the caked mud while getting rid of any last remaining itchy spots on their bodies.

My attention was drawn to one male rhino deciding that he was not going to even leave the wallow to find a rubbing post. The male rhino looked at his brother, having a relaxing lie down in the mud, and started scratching his face against his brother’s backside. The male rhino then proceeded to lie with his head on top of his brother while pushing forward and backwards, scratching his neck and shoulders against his brother’s backside. Just as the rhino got comfortable with his newly found rubbing post, the brother rhino decided this was not working for him and quickly got back up from his resting position in the mud. The rhino looked a little annoyed with his brother bumping and scratching against him while he was enjoying his own mud bath in peace. It was really funny to watch such formidable creatures having a comical moment in the mud before they headed off again into the bush and disappeared.