South African Roel van Muiden saw the incident at Madike Game Reserve
The foal had been abandoned in a patch of mud by its mother and herd
Bull rhino used his horn to lift the youngster out – but disembowelled it
Mr van Muisen said he felt he must ‘let nature be nature’
Helplessly stuck in a patch of mud, this tiny zebra foal appeared doomed to a prolonged and agonising death.
Then along came the most unlikely of rescuers – a gigantic bull rhino who had been attracted by the creature’s desperate struggles and mewling cries.
It was the work of a moment for the enormous animal to hoist the foal out of the mud and to safety. But tragically this was one rescue that did not have a happy ending. Oblivious to its own strength, the rhino ended up impaling the zebra on its horn.
Roel van Muiden, a field guide and wildlife photographer, spotted the foal stuck in a deep and pitiless patch of mud while he was showing visitors around the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa.
Nearby a bull rhino was chasing some females, then being chased away in return, but the foal’s mother and her herd were nowhere to be seen.
