13kg deer stuns onlookers by squaring up to giant rhino

Dubai: Building on this dramatic encounter, a viral wildlife moment swept through Poland’s Wrocław Zoo as a diminutive 13 kg deer took on a nearly 1.7-tonne rhinoceros and emerged a surprising crowd favourite. The brief but dramatic encounter — captured on video and shared widely on social media — showed the bold male Chinese muntjac deer confronting the massive rhino in the snow-covered enclosure, repeatedly bumping heads in what observers described as a spirited face-off.

Following this spectacle, zoo staff later explained the unusual behaviour as territorial and possibly linked to heightened hormones, noting that the tiny deer was responding to mating instincts while the much larger rhino — named Maruśka — remained calm throughout.

The striking size contrast between the two animals — roughly 1:130 in weight — captivated online audiences and led to a flood of comments filled with humour and admiration for the pint-sized challenger. This viral video reinvigorated interest in animal behaviour and the unexpected interactions that can occur, even in well-managed zoo environments.

Video from AFP