Rare Rhino Gets Released and Immediately Faces off With Lion

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Wildlife officials relocated a critically endangered female black rhino into Loisaba, a wildlife conservancy located in northern Kenya, but they didn’t expect a male lion to immediately try to take it down. But that’s what happened upon the rhino’s release, much to onlookers’ dismay. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a black rhino sanctuary in Kenya, recently shared a video showing the dramatic incident on its Instagram page.

“Nature never fails to surprise us, and the wild constantly reminds us of its unpredictability,” wrote Ol Pejeta Conservancy in its post sharing the wild drone footage. “This incredible footage captures the moment Ushindi, a female black rhino translocated from Ol Pejeta to Loisaba, came face-to-face with a male lion just after her release. What makes this encounter even more extraordinary is that the lions on Loisaba had never encountered a rhino before.”

Ol Pejeta said members of its translocation team “held their breath” as this tense moment unfolded. Honestly, I held my breath too as I watched it go down.

Watch as a rhino goes head to head with a lion here:

Thankfully, the organization says Ushindi escaped with only minor injuries, and she has made a full recovery.