In a heart-wrenching incident at an African park, a male elephant attacked a female black rhino, leaving her seriously injured while her calf refused to leave her side, hoping she would recover.

Amateur photographer Louis Kok and his wife Marthie, both from Pretoria, South Africa, captured the shocking moment when the elephant violently flipped the rhino onto her back, driven by heightened aggression.

The couple had been photographing the rhino and her calf when the one-tusked elephant suddenly charged.

The male elephant, driven by musth—a condition characterized by a significant increase in testosterone levels—relentlessly attacked the rhino, who was trying to protect her calf.

Musth can cause testosterone levels in bull elephants to surge up to 60 times higher than normal, leading to extremely aggressive behavior.

“The elephant wasted no time overturning the rhino, leaving her vulnerable and unable to defend herself,” Mr. Kok explained. “It was a brutal display of strength as the elephant repeatedly rolled the helpless rhino in the dust, using its massive weight to inflict further injury.”

After the attack, the rhino’s calf rushed to her side, refusing to leave as it tried to help her. “The calf stayed close to its mother, circling her and making several attempts to assist her,” Mr. Kok recounted.

Despite the calf’s efforts, the mother rhino’s injuries were severe. Although she managed to stand after two hours, she succumbed to her injuries a few days later, leaving behind her heartbroken calf.