A Mother’s Fury: Antelope Locks Horns with Rhino in Dramatic Showdown After It Ventures Too Close to Her Calf at Safari Park

This is the dramatic moment a mother antelope clashed horns with a three-tonne rhino which strayed a little too close to her calf at a safari park.

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Dramatic: The stand-off saw the antelope refuse to back down when the beast approached her calf – and at one point even clashed horns with it

Coming together: The antelope, Ramina, kept her baby Phoenix behind her at all times as she charged at the massive rhino, Njanu

Keepers say Ramina, a scimitar oryx antelope, was being overly defensive of her baby on her first outing in the park following a difficult birth.

Taking him on: Keepers say Ramina, a scimitar oryx antelope, was being overly defensive of her baby in the park following a difficult birth

Coming together: The calf, who lives at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire, was brought back to life by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after birth

She displayed real maternal courage to stand up to him so bravely

Dan Gray, Longleat Safari Park keeper

Come on then: The scimitar oryx – oryx daMMAh in Latin – gets its name from its scimitar-shaped horn which can measure up to 5ft in length

It’s back: Originally from North Africa, the oryx antelope is thought to have gone extinct in the wild in 1999 – due to hunting and loss of habitat

The horns are made from hollow bone, so can break off quite easily and do not grow back – making one horned oryx a relatively common occurrence.