A rhino got stuck in a waterhole near a pride of lions resulting in hours of chaos. “A passing herd of elephants was alerted to the scene, giving the rhino a lifeline,” Latest Sightings shared on YouTube.
Latest Sightings provided more details of the video that Kim Hathway provided. She was witness to the dramatic event in Etosha National Park. Kim and her friends were at the Aus waterhole and were about to “throw in the towel” after having no luck seeing any wildlife. Then, a lioness “stuck her head over the hill.” A few minutes later “a large black rhino came galloping over the very same hill.”
“Exhausted by the Namibian heat, it headed straight for the little that remained in the waterhole. It instantly plonked itself down, trying to cool off in the muddied water,” Latest Sightings described.
The rhino submerged himself into the muddied water to try and cool off. The lions got closer and closer but the rhino didn’t budge. That’s when Kim realized something was wrong. The rhino was stuck and couldn’t get out. The lions soon realized that the rhino was stuck too and they approached with caution and “used hunting tactics to try and finish the job.”
That’s when a herd of elephants appeared, drawn by the commotion. The herd immediately charged at the lions, forcing the lions to back off.
“With the threat out of sight, most of the herd continued on their way, but one elephant wasn’t happy to leave the rhino at the mercy of the lions. It desperately tried to get the rhino out of the waterhole,” Last Sightings wrote. “Using its tusks and foot, it pushed and pushed, without any luck. At one point the ellie even looked like it was on top of the poor rhino.”
For hours, the elephant tried valiantly to free the rhino. The elephant could “simply do no more.” The elephant reluctantly gave up and went to rejoin the herd, knowing the lions were still waiting.
Sadly, the lion pride came back for its prey. The elephants were still in the area and tried to chase the lions off a few more times, but they eventually realized the situation was futile and there was nothing more they could do.
“The lions came back in and eventually managed to flip the rhino on its back, leading to its inevitable drowning,” Last Sightings wrote. “The rhino’s fight was over, and the predators came out as the victors in this unbelievable wildlife story.”