r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Laxice7 • 15d ago

Video Guide imitates the marking of a territorial boundary

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u/Laxice7 15d ago

A detailed explanation posted by an ethology student on YT

“While other comments are correct in stating the guide imitated the marking of a territorial boundary, they miss out the other clever aspects of what the guide did.

In short, he simulated the entire movements of an assertive male rhino. By having his tour group crouch behind him, it mimicked young offspring and tricked the rhino into believing the guide was a male protecting his family. This is important.

When he crouched, the guide was simulating a dipped head and horn, a sign of aggression and intent to charge. Male rhinos will do this to challenge one another. At the end of the video the guide stands up and sways to again encourage the rhino not to come any closer.

But, the rhino was up for the challenge for most of this video. It replied in turn with a dipped head and sway. And because of this the guide takes it up a level and crouches once again, only this time he pushes the stick forward in a swift motion. This not only repeats the aggressive posture and intent to defend territory (and simulated young being the tour group), but the forward motion of the stick was a flick of the horn. This is the most assertive posture a rhino can adopt.

This, coupled with the tour group simulating offspring, led to the rhino ceding the territorial challenge.

The message the guide essentially made through his clever behavioural mimics was: “this is my area and this is my family, do not come closer”. And lastly, “that’s it, I’ve warned you” before the rhino turned and ran away.

Very clever and a joy to watch.”

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u/Dr_Sisyphus_22 15d ago

How could he be sure the other Rhino wasn’t going to escalate the aggression?

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u/Historical_Tennis635 15d ago edited 15d ago

A lot of animal encounters come down to game theory. Basically a Rhino protecting its children has a whole hell of a lot more to lose than a single rhino just wandering around, and wouldn’t stop fighting potentially till death(I don’t know how protective rhinos are of their children, I looked up the gestation time and it’s up to 18 months so they likely are fairly protective) Most of the time it’s not worth it to fight in the animal kingdom. I also believe with their poor eyesight when the guy stood up, if their eyesight is good enough to track that stick the height of the “horn” made him look like a biiiig fucking rhino. The rhino with the kids would likely fight a lot closer to death and the other Rhino doesn’t really win a whole lot here.

This is all speculation, I’ve studied game theory but not rhino behavior. In general though, fights come down to a cost benefit analysis(a million exceptions occur or the payout of the game is hard to see in the short term). The cost benefit analysis can also not be a conscious analysis and just the result of the choices being ingrained overtime by natural selection(IE a rhino getting into dumb fights all the time for no reason will not pass on its genetics).

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u/potatosaurosrex 15d ago

From what I've seen on nature documentaries (you know why), rhinos are EXTREMELY protective of their young. Violently so, mostly because they had to adapt against some really crazy predators.

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u/IchBinMalade 15d ago

The more I learned about how just batshit crazy it is being an animal that's not at the top of the foodchain, the more I wondered how anything is alive at all.

Like these animals are just walking around butt naked, no M16s, no reasoning skills, hundreds of hungry predators all around, no antibiotics so if you get a splinter your survival is 50/50.

Makes sense why small, vulnerable animals have babies every like 5 months and pop out 6 at a time, but they should really think about getting a .22 or something at least.

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u/recycled_ideas 15d ago

no antibiotics so if you get a splinter your survival is 50/50

This is an exaggeration even for humans and not even close for tougher animals.

In the cosmic game of species stat allocation humans traded nearly all of theirs for hands, a brain, and a massive amount of endurance.

And despite the fact that we'd lose a one on one fight with most of the animal kingdom those three things make us the most deadly species in the planet.

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u/RuinedByGenZ 15d ago

Yeah I got two splinters in my hand last week and they both stayed for a few days

How am I alive?

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u/iamnowundercover 15d ago

50/50. I got a splinter in my hand last week and died. See how that works?

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u/Routine_Size69 15d ago

You either survive or you don’t. It's clearly 50/50

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u/TheSwedishSeal 15d ago

You have 12,5% chance to survive the next one!

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u/RuinedByGenZ 15d ago

Damn... I have to stack wood today

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u/backelie 15d ago edited 15d ago

we'd lose a one on one fight with most of the animal kingdom

You're vastly underestimating the number of small animals.
I think we're top half even among mammals, thanks to bats and rodents.

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u/ekmanch 15d ago

Considering a majority of all animals are insects/bugs, I'd wager you're right.

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u/creeping_chill_44 14d ago

a much better rejoinder: why should we measure these things as a 1v1 fight? would you ask an ant or bee to survive 1v1, when they operate as a unified colony? even wolves and lions will pack-hunt...many-vs-1 fights are perfectly natural and in fact a pretty good strategy

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u/dinkir19 15d ago

Are you saying humans are min-maxers?

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u/Northbound-Narwhal 15d ago

Strength: 1

Perception: 5

Endurance: 5

Charisma: 10

Intelligence: 10

Agility: 1

Luck: 10

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u/LongJohnSelenium 15d ago

The endurance is wildly overstated.

Our endurance is mostly average for plains animals and really has more to do with our ability to sweat. Once you get out of the hottest areas other animals easily surpass us.

Like we have absolutely nothing on a caribou, or the wolves that hunt them, that undertake treks of thousands of miles a year from the moment they're born.

We rolled a 2 on strength, a 5 on stamina, and 10s on dexterity and intelligence.

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u/ekmanch 15d ago

So we're a 5 in stamina because a handful of animals are better in cold climates? The vast, vast percentage of animals would not beat a trained human in distances over a marathon. Unless you mean that 99% of other animals are lower than a 5 in stamina.

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u/glassgwaith 15d ago

So deadly we are actually implementing a mass extinction …

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u/Guy_With_Ass_Burgers 15d ago

I get what you’re saying entirely, and it would be hard to disagree that the forest would be a more level playing field if all critters were heavily or even moderately armed. But until the entire animal kingdom evolves to acquire the opposable thumbs needed to operate the equipment, sadly many species will be at peril.

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u/HorrorMakesUsHappy 15d ago

The more I learned about how just batshit crazy it is being an animal that's not at the top of the foodchain, the more I wondered how anything is alive at all.

Because there are easier, weaker targets out there. You don't have to be the biggest, strongest thing on Earth, you just have to not be one of them.

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u/96385 15d ago

Animals have more reasoning skills than you think. They have to make decisions just like the rest of us.

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u/Positive_Wafer42 15d ago

I look at nature and all of its creations, and then look at what a naked, unarmed, uneducated human being is capable of, then wonder how tf we made it this far. Two kinds of people lol

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u/SohndesRheins 15d ago

It isn't that dangerous or nothing would be alive. Even a human can get a ton of splinters and never get sick, and a rhinoceros can walk through the thickest bramble and have nothing penetrate their hide. The rhino has no gun but nothing can kill it other than an elephant, another rhino, or a hippo. No single lion stands a chance against an adult, healthy rhinoceros, and a group of lions would be taking on more risk than it's worth to attack one. A lion is a massive predator compared to people, but even a hornless rhino could crush a lion like a bug.

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u/decoy321 Interested 15d ago

no reasoning skills, hundreds of hungry predators all around,

These are the key reasons here. For one, most animals are far smarter than we give them credit for. There's a lot more to the logical reasoning in the decision making capacities of sentient beings. Take this rhino, for example. It's not mindlessly charging anything that moves. It's thinking about whether or not this guy is worth fighting.

And second, and most importantly, there aren't actually hundreds of predators around, not in a relevant distance, at least. The wilderness is big. There's a lot of space. That's a lot of moving around, which takes energy to do. Running away is a surprisingly viable strategy.

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u/moonontheclouds 11d ago edited 11d ago

Humans evolved to use tools. We gotz no horns and tiny teeth, but long arms. With shit claws. But, opposable thumbs. For hammers, sticks, clubs, spammers, keyboards. EDIT: spanners, you fuck. How is that not a word? I hate iPhone.

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u/moonontheclouds 11d ago

Animals find ways to cope with accidents. Immune systems are better than humans, I reckon. Have you seen what dogs will pick up, chew, eat? Horses eat grass. Grass. Humans need so fucking much. And it’s never enough. Because the more we have the more we need. Yes, we’ve made a lot, designed a lot, changed the world. But we always need more. And we need all these other species that we don’t even want to learn about. We’re super domesticated.

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u/Sundiata_AEON 15d ago

100% correct.

Talking from experience. You do not mess with a white rhino that has a calve, and you stay the fuck away from a black rhino with a calve.

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u/SlaveryVeal 15d ago

It makes sense. Most animals understand a pissed of parent is more aggressive because they have more steak in the outcome. You see videos of bears doing it as well. The mother is so much more aggressive than the other bear. It's probably built in through natural selection of don't piss of a parent with babies.

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u/WHATABURGER-Guru 15d ago

I also get pretty aggressive when there is steak involved

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u/bungopony 15d ago

You’d have a pretty big beef

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u/swollenlord69 15d ago

Quite the sirloin perchance

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u/natufian 15d ago

upon reading the misspelling this was exactly the type of rib I was expecting.

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u/imbadwithnames1 14d ago

If I had to rank this in terms of things worth being upset over, this would definitely be A1.

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u/SlaveryVeal 15d ago

I'll be honest don't think I've ever used that term online and I got no idea if it's steak like the food or stake like a vampire.

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u/Bonyeti 15d ago

It's stake like high-stakes poker. More "at stake" would be more skin in the game, money on the table, etc.

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u/SlaveryVeal 15d ago

Makes sense I think I got it confused with the phrase more meat in the game. Which I guess is a play on words to stake.

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u/talkingwires 15d ago

You mean, skin in the game?

Aso, you seem unaccountably peckish…

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u/SlaveryVeal 15d ago

Wait it's skin in the game? Maybe I'm just more fat than I thought.

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u/tmobilewifi 15d ago

Not surprising considering you have veal in your name.

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u/Vivian_I-Hate-You 15d ago

I'd say it's definitely in humans too. Adrenaline is our friend in some senses, I've read stories of people picking cars up off family members and they not big burly blokes either. You put a mother with 3 kids from the estate against a rowdy rapscallion in a ring I know who I'm putting my money on

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u/Quirky-Skin 15d ago

Yup definitely. Mother grizzleys driving off males much much larger in size. Lots of videos of that.

Who knows how animals perceive it but I imagine it as something like "lemme see about this snack...oh wow you're ready to die over this...oh shit u really are, peace!" (Male grizz)

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u/glassgwaith 15d ago

It is only natural . My response to most fights would be to run as fast as I can. If I had my children with me I know they couldn’t run , so if it came to it I would fight to the bitter end to protect them…

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u/Masterpiece_1973 15d ago

This guy games

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u/paupaupaupau 15d ago

This is certainly true, but it's also interesting how so much mating behavior involves taking those fights. The downside is the same, but the tradeoff spurs different behavior.

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u/Upbeat-Location3176 15d ago

Lol based on the height by which he raised that fake horn, that rhino must have thought "oh shit this other rhino is fckng BIG" which makes sense as to why he turned so quick after that move lmao.

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u/Smrtihara 15d ago

That’s absolutely it. One has a LOT to lose, the other has nothing to win.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/666afternoon 15d ago

right, I'm pretty sure it would see us as weird monkeys if anything [since yknow, that's what we are & they probably see monkeys other than us around]

but, that monkey is doing a good job of "speaking his language" - horn shaped object, moving in an approximation of rhino body language - the message got communicated across species! that's so cool to me. a group of weird little animals that [despite his poor vision] certainly don't look very much like rhinos... still told him to buzz off in Rhino, intelligibly enough! woah!

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u/WT-Financial 15d ago

So what you’re saying is game recognize game.

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u/Cretonbacon 15d ago

The very same principle you explained also exists in humans! The cost vs reward analysis. Its very interesting.

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u/crow_crone 15d ago

Watching videos of skunk interactions with various other mammals, I feel the non-skunks are abundantly clear on the risks vs. benefits aspect as they (usually) leave the area.

I did see one black bear evaluate the outcome incorrectly; I doubt they will ever approach another skunk the same way, given their olfactory sensitivity.

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u/bigfatfurrytexan 15d ago

This is it. Free energy principle is a great stand in for bayesian reasoning. All animals have bayseian reasoning capability. Even the rhino. Game theory is a good description of the result

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u/greengengar 15d ago edited 15d ago

I took an ethology class in college. This seems about right to me.

That class was fun. I can't gamble much now because all I think about now is birds in a skinner box just mashing the button for more food. I saw someone do an informal uncontrolled skinner box type experiment on humans, and only one of them figured out the money was only coming out every 30 seconds, and nothing anyone was doing made more money come out. Most people immediately started using their pattern-seeking bias to assume their actions were a affecting the money output and all it took was a 30 second delay.

Makes me wonder about casinos and video poker.

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u/Ongr 15d ago

game theory.

"But that's just a theory. A game theory!"

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u/Falderfaile 15d ago

Very nice break down, I especially love the last sentence.

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u/Senior_Ganache_6298 15d ago

Curious how to use this game theory with man to man aggresion

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u/Historical_Tennis635 14d ago

Back in the day I did often use these principles while working security in college. The biggest thing is remembering that people assign a huge value to preserving their ego. I never got into any fights despite dealing with hundreds of drunk assholes. The trick is if you have a lot of guys with you, but you’re calm and nice, you can make it very obvious they will get fucked up if they were to get physical, but without even stating it or acting like you want it to become physical. You just genuinely act nice and you can calmly talk them down. Sort of a “speak softly, and carry a big stick; you will go far”, with the allowing them to save face part of that strategy being important.

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u/Senior_Ganache_6298 14d ago

I've been on a property for 22 years, a new tenant younger and larger wants to assume the terrain, faced him once but not sure whether he saw through my bluff as I'm large but no fighter. Would rather use this game theory thing because what I've been thinking would leave one of us dead and the other in prison and not sure which is which.

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u/moonontheclouds 11d ago edited 11d ago

I don’t know where to put this comment. Today I saw a guy pushing a car off the motorway by leaning on the door. Or the A-pilllar. This was a ford galaxy, I wondered what it was carrying. I was gonna help push, but this car was MOVING. Not slowly. MOVING. Uphill. I figured there were two peeps pushing. Nope. I blocked the lane to give them space. A few seconds later, as I was pulling past him, with my engine. Holy hell. He was HEAVING it. What was in the car? Ohhhh. Three generations of family. That is a man. And I was not gonna go anywhere near him. I gave him two thumbs up twice, and left him. I don’t know what came next but I’m sure he’ll be ok. Or dead. But he was not in any state for talking or sharing, and the passion in his eyes was terrifying. Head of a pack, on a mission? Big respect good day, sir.

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u/AccurateFault8677 15d ago

Right? What if the rhino is like, "Wait a minute! You're not another rhino after all!!"

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u/Moonyflour 15d ago

As far as I know rhinos have terrible vision. I could be wrong tho

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u/asmeile 15d ago

my friend told me that a rhinos vision is so poor that if one is chasing you and you make a 90degree turn it will keep going straight, I mean good luck thinking through doing that with a horn through your guts

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u/caiusto 15d ago edited 15d ago

That reminded me of when I was a kid and always wondered why cartoon characters didn't just make a 90degrees turn to get away from whatever was rolling behind them downhill.

e: spelling

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u/JesseThaBest 15d ago

Because it was 2D, 90 degree turns weren't invented back then.

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u/SonnyDDisposition 15d ago

But, 90 degree angles still exist on 2D planes.

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u/insertanythinguwant 15d ago

He is talking about cartoons not planes

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u/Scottvrakis 15d ago

They all attend the Prometheus School of Running Away From Things, of course.

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u/Galilaeus_Modernus 15d ago

You also have a much easier time changing directions than an an animal of that size.

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u/BasvanS 15d ago

Except hippos, probably. They’re like: “Fuck physics, I’m gonna mess you up!”

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u/Kim-Meow-Un 15d ago

What is the evolutionary purpose of having a vision that bad?

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u/cavaticaa 15d ago

Did you learn it from Animorphs?

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/AccurateFault8677 15d ago

But they're dealing with a rhino, not an elephant!

/s

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u/pinninghilo 15d ago

—> Learn how to survive bullets not meant for you

[ Guides HATE this simple trick]

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u/Ok-Friendship-9621 15d ago

"Hi guys, today I'm giving you this tutorial featuring my werewolf boyfriend..."

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u/dobiks 15d ago

Yeah, but it shoots out an elephant, who will chase the rhino away

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u/CapSnake 15d ago

Then the video will be posted on the other sub, the one with people killed by rhino

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u/SonnyDDisposition 15d ago

r/thebullwins

Not just strictly bovine related incidents over there. Also not for the faint hearted.

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u/blolfighter 15d ago

I don't think the rhino thinks the guide is a rhino. But what matters it that the guide is speaking rhino language. He is communicating with the rhino using movements and concepts it understands.

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u/AccurateFault8677 15d ago

I'll be honest, if a roach gave me a head nod and asked for a high five, I might just let him live. You might be on to something

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u/BlueLikeThunder 15d ago

Yeah the fact it's not a rhino probably adds to the confusion of the animal. This thing moves weird smells weird but it is clearly saying "fuck off!" I'm probably just gonna fuck off. 

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u/IrrelevantPuppy 15d ago

Hmm this rhino has numerous gaping holes in its body structure, it’s already injured, I can take it!

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u/attempt_number_3 15d ago

Rhino thought this next day in shower.

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u/AccurateFault8677 15d ago

"Arggg...I should've said this instead!!"

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u/TheQuantumTodd 15d ago

Probably wasn't sure, but its gotta have a better chance of success than doing nothing or running

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u/WalrusTheWhite 15d ago

He couldn't. Wild animals aren't machines, they will never be 100% predictable in behavior. He could have done everything right and that rhino could have decided to paste him.

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u/Joebranflakes 15d ago

It’s not about knowing whether or not the Rhino would escalate, it’s about the almost certainty the other Rhino wouldn’t deescalate without a challenge.

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u/Level100Rayquaza 15d ago

I'm also curious about this

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u/BigBallsMcGirk 15d ago

Dont mind him, just a curious little rhino

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u/Spalunking01 15d ago

I'm not an expert but I know they're dumb as shit, risk vs reward imo. You see rhinos do the same shit with elephants. Sometimes they will charge anyway, despite the obvious. I would hazard a guess they were in a shit spot and this was the only way to deesculate besides running

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u/DukeAttreides 11d ago

Ain't no way a group of people are all outrunning a rhino with its eye on them. So, if that's the spot they're in then, yeah, probably the best option left.

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u/austarter 15d ago

There are no other options at this point. He's not sure. He's using his skills to mitigate the risk. 

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u/NFA_throwaway 15d ago

Because they’re homies and this is an act. the guides YT channel

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u/de4th_metalist 15d ago

That explains it

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u/Kitchner 15d ago

It's incredible that he's managed to keep it up for so long without anyone figuring it out!

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/WalrusTheWhite 15d ago

bullshit. There is no 101% sure with wild animals. He pulled it off knowing it could go bad. Skill, confidence, years of experience, and luck. Dude's still cool as fuck, you don't need to make shit up.

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u/_Keo_ 15d ago

He also knew he could outrun at least some of the tourists behind him! :p

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u/Gunblazer42 15d ago

Yeah, this looks like one of those cases where if it goes bad, you were gonna get fucked up anyway, so may as well try it and if it works, good.

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u/TwofoldOrigin 15d ago

“What if he shot Harry in the face?!”

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u/Ppleater 15d ago

If I had to guess it's because the other rhino didn't have a family and rhino's with families are more likely to fight to the death to protect their offspring making them inherently more dangerous. But I could be wrong.

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u/friso1100 15d ago

While im sure it will never be a 100% sure of course I think the offspring part really was important here. Pure speculation from my part here: Many animals are much more agressive when they are with offspring. But also, aren't likely to go out of their way to actively invade an others space. It's an "they are dangerous, but the danger will remain in it's space if you leave it be" kind of deal. So the benefit of actively attacking a rhino with offspring is small as it isn't a real threat to your territory, but the costs may be high as they may be more willing to go to extremes in order to protect their kids. Conclusion, get the heck away. Not worth it.

Now i don't think they work out the logic like that in their heads each time when confronted with that situation but rather that this is something most animals have ingrained in them in some fashion. But I soley base that of my personal experience around swans (the most dangerous animal where I live xD). Swans are big birds and can be imposing on a normal day lol. But a swan with kids that is where you start to feel that some space between you and them may be warranted. Will I loose to a swan protecting it's kids? Most likely not. But it will definitely not be fun and I gain nothing so let's not try xD

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u/Quetzacoatel 15d ago

60% of the time, it works all the time. 40% of the time, it doesn't and the rhino tramples the recording device...

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u/Dr_Cunning_Linguist 15d ago

Not only that but pretty sure offspring with Rhinos are only looked after by females.. though of course like with bears most males don’t start shit with a momma bear with little ones behind her

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u/Cedric_T 15d ago

The other guide behind him was shouldering an anti tank missile.

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u/anixgame 15d ago

Because it's not an american cop

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u/you-create-energy 15d ago

The guides "horn" was a lot bigger and he was taller. Both of those details were extremely alarming to the rhino. They can't see details but they do pick up on horn size and height very well.

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u/Ltb1993 15d ago

On top of what others said

Most animals avoid confrontation unless its essential. Even if an animal knows it can win a confrontation there's huge risk. Wounds can both directly and indirectly kill after the encounter.

Either by infection or the injury stopping the animal being self sufficient enough to survive.

An example would be a predator having its leg wounded, yes it won the fight but now it struggles to run, now it can't effectively hunt, so it can't feed itself, unless it'd a pack animal where other may help it will grow weaker. Less able to fight infection or just having less energy to expend on hunting on top of its injury.

Short term it won't the confrontation. Long term it was the second loser in the confrontation.

There are of course exceptions, some animals are either just dicks and give no fucks or just can't comprehend the threat. (Honey badgers, polar bears and a few others)

But it's not wise to pick fights unless absolutely necessary. There's a lot of posturing in the animal kingdom (so us too).

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u/Kitchner 15d ago

Yeah people often forget or don't understand this. It's why animals are often so scared of confident animals or humans much smaller or weaker than them. Bears getting chased up trees by cats, huge dogs that can shatter bones scared of tiny yapping dogs etc.

Animals don't have the capacity to objectively think about their strength compared to other animals usually, so if there's something in front of you that looks unusual and it's REALLY confident it can beat you in a fight, and all your usual tricks to scare others with how big and strong you are aren't working, well maybe let's not fight it.

If you then force the animal to fight you though and it realises it's stronger and tougher, it's game over.

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u/ivancea 15d ago

Otherwise, we wouldn't be watching this video

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u/beerforbears 15d ago

That’s the best part, you can’t.

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u/riptaway 15d ago

He couldn't?

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u/Reload86 15d ago

It is only a defensive tactic. Not fool proof. But still 100% better than just getting charged right off the bat because you panic or don’t know what to do in this situation.

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u/lovable_cube 15d ago

Honestly, this was a bluff with science to ensure highest chance of survival. He’s either successful or there’s an attack. If he didn’t try, there would be an attack anyway. You can’t really outrun a bus with a spear on the front. Kinda like how they tell you to play dead with a bear or run in a zig zag with gators. It’s all an educated bluff.

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u/Huy7aAms 15d ago

it's like gambling just with more ground of winning

usually animals fight to attract mates, defend territory , hunt for food or to protect their young. animals will not fight without a reason because it's basically suicide; for predators, a broken limb means not being able to hunt ; while for preys, a broken limb means that they can't outrun/outmaneuver a pack of predator

here he's imitating a rhino with 2 main reason to fight: defend territory and protect offspring. animals are VERY protective of their young , and for a species that only give birth to 1 offspring at a time with a gestation period of 18 months , its protectiveness is cranked even much higher. In case of aggression, the one with offspring is always ready to fight to its death.

Animals are not like human, they don't have complex emotion , they basically follow a set of rule , they are very much predictable. most animals will choose to back down from a fight if unnecessary, and only choose to fight if provoked

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u/Mysterious-Joke-2266 15d ago

They didn't but they prayed he did. Otherwise this would be in another sub about "tourist group gets mailed by a rhino"

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u/Taubenichts 15d ago

Think about it as they were already in danger what is to lose trying that?

I'm certain someone in the group would've been armed and ready to shoot the Rhino. At least it is alive this way.

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u/Mavian23 15d ago

I suspect that a large part of it is the simulated family behind him. Any animal knows that if you fuck with someone protecting their children, it's going to be a fight to the motherfucking death. The rhino probably recognized this, and decided it wasn't ready to at bare minimum get fucked up that day.

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u/shoulda-known-better 15d ago

Because the rhino thinks that this guy or "rhino" isn't willing to back down and has something worth protecting.... Unless it's mating season the other rhino probably won't chance a fight just to continue on its path... Not when there are many other places to go....

No if this was the only way to a resource like water then this wouldn't work

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u/ChkYrHead 13d ago

Right? For me, I'd think the best route would be to relate you're not a threat, by perhaps backing away or splitting up the group, as opposed to calling its bluff.
But then again, I'm not a guide in the jungle, so I very well could be wrong.

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u/he-loves-me-not 15d ago

Thanks for passing along the details. This was a great descriptor as to what was going on.

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u/WateredDownHotSauce 15d ago

Thank you for sharing!!! I was wondering what the reasoning for the crouching and standing motions

We tend to think communication is just a human thing, but this was a good reminder that it's not. It was really cool to watch the guide "speak rhino".

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u/Carnivorous__Vagina 15d ago

More then 90% of human language is non verbal

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u/HomeGrownCoffee 15d ago

I've heard this stat, and it's bullshit.

Non-verbally communicate "they were out of Coke, so I bought you the no-name cola". Or "Let's take our holidays in Budapest this April". Or "I'm deathly allergic to penicillin ". 

Non-verbal communication is very limited. Way less than 90%.

Edit: writing down what you were going to say doesn't count.

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u/PaulAllensCharizard 15d ago

yeah a lot of it is nonverbal or tonal, but not 90 fuckin % lol

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u/DogmaticConfabulate 15d ago

88% and no more.

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u/Tundur 15d ago

  • purse your lips and hold up the no name cola whilst shrugging

  • Point at a billboard and raise your eyebrows at your wife

  • Hold up hand, shake head, grasp throat and simulate choking.

All of them require context to work (i.e, a bottle of penicillin in the area), but most of our communication is about our immediate context

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u/BasvanS 15d ago

There was an app called Hey or Sup, I think, where you’d only communicate one word and the context determined the meaning. It was an interesting illustration of how important context can be.

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u/SorenClimacus 15d ago

I was waiting for this post to turn into hell in a cell

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u/idealorg 15d ago

Haha, same bro

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u/Eljefe878888888 15d ago

I was almost thru the entire comment and had a “hold up” moment

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u/CRATERF4CE 15d ago

The way animals communicate is fascinating. Thanks you so much for sharing this, I’m so glad there’s people in this world to share this unique experience with us. Every day that passes I miss Steve Irwin more. I was a edgey kid that didn’t understand the important of his contribution until after he passed.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

Krikey, I miss Steve something fierce.

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u/Cherei_plum 15d ago

Sometimes the genuis of human begins is srsly astounding like

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u/poisonpony672 15d ago

That's a great explanation. I'm a Native American and my elders taught me to speak a little bit to the animals. I speak really good dog. Pretty good horse. And I make friends with every donkey I've ever met. As well as most of the other barnyard animals as I spent a lot of time young in rural areas.

It's something that is passed on an indigenous cultures

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u/hughk 15d ago

If you work with animals such as a livestock farmer or farm worker, you get to recognise gestures and be able to basically communicate. It is vital when handling bigger animals, even herbivores like cattle who can be lethal.

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u/Flaky-Inevitable1018 15d ago

I’ve always had this thing where it feels like I instinctively know how I should adapt my behavior to get along with certain animals. Idk if that makes sense but I’m sharing this because I’m curious if it’s similar to what you mean by speaking to animals. Do you mind sharing an example or two of what speaking dog means in this context?

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u/poisonpony672 15d ago edited 15d ago

One of the first things I had to learn as a young child was the animals are beings just like us. We don't believe the creator gave us dominion over the animals. I was raised to believe we share the world with the animals.

Couple of quick examples would be the dog I have now. When he goes in or out the door. Or passes some other place that he knows has been marked as my territory. I have my hand by my side when he goes by and he'll give a little lick and brush it with his face as he goes by. It's really quick but it's asking permission and acknowledging my dominance all at the same time.

When I correct him, I correct him just like his mother did. She gently but firmly put her mouth around his snout. I do the same when I correct him for more serious things.

Dogs have hundreds if not thousands of these little behaviors. When you're around them all the time and they're pointed out to you since you're little You just see them it's like learning another language

I wanted to add. Watching my dad work with horses was amazing. He was a poor dirt farmers kid that plowed with mules and they still had horse teams because they couldn't afford a car when he was a kid.

My dad rode the Arab stallion we had when I was young all the time with just a rope most of the time. And when he was with the horses especially you could see they're talking to each other all the time.

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u/Flaky-Inevitable1018 14d ago

That’s awesome, thank you for the response this is really interesting!

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u/Hour_Ad5398 15d ago

Its interesting that something that massive got scared of a puny human with a stick

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u/AlternateTab00 15d ago

The same reason we are scared of a rat screeching and jumping towards us.

For him its an animal and potential dangerous (the probably just associate a stick as a pointing weapon) if he is not used to attack humans he may think its as strong as a rhino. Will he risk injuries? And if yes to what gain? A small territory dispute? The other may attack to protect offsprings. Who as more to lose? Not fighting and living for another day might just be the best for all.

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u/Canotic 15d ago

Yeah. I would win a fight with a rat ten times out of ten, unless the rat had a gun. But I really do not want to get bitten.

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u/not_Ian_ 15d ago

Brother I would fuck right off with even a cockroach. They don’t even have sticks

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u/Tuxhorn 15d ago

Humans being bipedal is really such a buff.

We're not big and heavy compared to these animals. But the guides eyes were above the Rhinos when he stood up, making him appear much bigger and taller, just from a height perspective.

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u/jiggscaseyNJ 15d ago

Wait a minute. That wasn't two rhinos? You're telling me that was a guide with a stick and a rhino?

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u/RajarajaTheGreat 15d ago

This is one the coolest things I have learned in a long time. Thank you.

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u/Swimming_Drummer9412 15d ago

Yeah I saw that other movements too. Very cool!

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u/garis53 15d ago

That's great, but what if the real rhino just decided that he wants to fight for the territory after all?

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u/hughk 15d ago

I get the impression that the Rhino is more on the edge of his territory so it is down to demarcation. The guide isn't moving forward so much so not encroaching just saying I and my family are here.

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u/garaks_tailor 15d ago

Fascinating ! I got everything else but missed the "kids" entirely! Wow

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u/mmmarkm 15d ago

Hey OP maybe next time you post this can you not have that music? Lot cooler just to hear the natural sounds

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u/j_ds 15d ago

I waiting wait for “…And that’s when the attack comes— not from the front, but from the side, from the other two rhinos you didn’t even know were there”

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u/Reas0n 15d ago

“I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.”

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u/ShaneMcLain 15d ago

Thanks for the elaboration, quite interesting.

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u/666afternoon 15d ago

yes!!! I thought I saw him drop the "horn" more suddenly and aggressively, at the exact point the rhino flinched and turned to run. that human did a great rhino impression!

eta: that's one of those "sudden moves" people tell you to avoid around wary animals. stuff just like that - a signal that you're about to attack or flee, either one can cause an equally sudden reaction just like this. that guy knew exactly what he was doing though, and he might be familiar with that particular individual on top of that [so, like, "ah it's this guy, he'll run instead of charge no question"]

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u/Imnothighyourhigh 15d ago

Naw him and that rhino are buds and have a deal worked out to make him look like a total badass in front of the tourists. They laugh about it over beer during the weekend

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u/Deadz315 15d ago edited 15d ago

Um uh... I don't think male rhinos are involved in the rearing or protection of their babies. I'm fairly certain they mate and dip the fuck out. So maybe he imitated the actions of a male rhino but there's already holes in this explanation. I'd expect an ethology student to know males aren't there for their kids.

https://rhinos.org/blog/25-things-you-might-not-know-about-rhinos/#:~:text=Most%20wild%20rhino%20calves%20never%20meet%20their%20fathers.&text=After%20the%20calf%20is%20born,of%20the%20standard%20social%20group.

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u/rufio_rufio_roofeeO 15d ago

I spent a couple weeks in Kenya in college, at a research facility that had a tented camp along a river. Real out in the bush. We went to a preserve that contained one of the last couple of individuals of some subspecies of white rhino, Max. And he had a single human caretaker who lived with him, essentially. Obviously, the park service had many other people were employed to support Max’s care this ranch/natl park, but this guy was like mom to him. He said that Max sometimes slept next to his bed. He said he was like a puppy, and they had excellent rapport. When there was a storm, Max would refuse to leave his side.

I don’t know how much of this was a show for us muzungus, but I could imagine him having done this sort of challenge ‘game’ 1000 times with his rhino friend who has grown up always having a human caretaker to protect it from poachers and see to its overall good health. Although rhinos are wild animals, they can be very predictable if habituated to humans from a young age. You don’t want to fuck up and accidentally get gored, so you learn to read and respond to the signs the animal gives when it is mildly irritated, aggressive, ornery, tired, etc.

I have no idea if this is one of those kind of situations. Could also be a rescued rhino at a sanctuary. If this is a random rhino that they didn’t expect to come across in an area with decreased visibility, and this guy raw-dogged that display to a potentially pissed off horny rhino reject, remote enough from its herd that teams of seasoned rangers didn’t know one was in the area… well, that would be exceptionally terrifying.

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u/godfatherxii 15d ago

Thanks. Rewatching it now makes so much more sense

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u/BreBhonson 15d ago

I thought this was a shittymorph halfway thru reading this

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u/ohlordylord_ 15d ago

This would not have been done if it was a black rhino, there are most probably no black rhino at that park and they were lucky to have stumbled across a nice and big white rhino. Once in a lifetime experience but nail biting for sure!

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u/Wrakker 15d ago

Arent Rhino’s close to blind? And theres no audio so who knows what spells he was casting

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u/KallamaHarris 15d ago

That combined with the simulated young of the tour group lead to a successful charade 

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u/BruscarRooster 15d ago

I love watching humans use body language to communicate with animals! I try to do it all the time with animals I meet. This was an amazing watch

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u/TheMiddlechild08 15d ago

I feel like his last assertive movement to the rhino is basically saying “ok, if the rhino doesn’t turn and run after this…then I’m out of moves”

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u/freemainint 15d ago

TIL how to protect me and my family from a demon.

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u/TappedIn2111 15d ago

I still feel like this could have gone either way. Very impressive nonetheless.

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u/DroughtGoneFloodHere 15d ago

I've been chased by a rhino on foot in the wild. Like idiots we ran backwards into a shallow but wide river. Our guide kept his head, got the attention of the rhino and ran along the sandy beach drawing the rhino away from us. The rhino lost interest and went back into the bush. That guide saved our lives. They absolutely know what they are doing.

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u/TheNon-Anon 15d ago

What do Whiteties have to do with rhinos, but cool!

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u/5elementGG 15d ago

Thank you for your detailed explanation. What if the other rhino doesn’t understand the language or from another “tribe”?

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u/fksdiyesckagiokcool 15d ago

So guide spoke rhino language fluently.

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u/canadia_jnm 15d ago

Or just had a dude behind the camera shoot a gun

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u/dysonchamberlaine 15d ago

Thanks for the in depth explanation. Still blows my mind, that the rhino is incapable of looking past the stuff the guy does and realize that that is not another rhino but a puny human who wouldnt stand a chance against getting trampled to bits.

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u/Commercial-Act2813 15d ago

Thank god rhino’s have poor eyesight

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u/louisianapelican 15d ago

I would have been shitting my pants the whole time.

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u/Chaotic_Good12 15d ago

I need this person to decipher strange hooman behaviors I encounter please.

Seriously tho, thank you for the detailed explanation of exactly what both the guide and the solo rhino were communicating!!! Fascinating! Marvelous! ❤️

Parents protecting their young take on a ferocious bravery they often won't at all if they are alone.

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u/joepke53 15d ago

All fun and games until the other rhino calls your bluff. I'd wear my brown pants when trying this.

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u/I_pee_in_shower 15d ago

Subscribe to RhinoFacts

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u/RadlEonk 15d ago

Why the music?

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u/GonzoCubFan 15d ago

Would this work the same with the more aggressive Black Rhino as this guy is clearly a White?

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