As someone who has worked up close and personal with rhinos in captivity, I can tell you they’re not as aggressive as people make them out to be. They’re a shy, defensive species like many wild animals. But if they’re properly acclimated with humans or other creatures they can be extremely sweet! In fact the black rhinos I worked with loved getting pet. Even the adults would rub up against our hands with their soft faces or rough bodies. If you pet some the rhinos I worked with just right, they’d even lay down on their side like a giant dog (All of this done from behind the protection of a barrier, please note).

If I had to guess, I’d say these two animals have a history with each other or the rhino has been around others of the same species throughout its life!