Animals in captivity can end up with some unusual neighbors —surprising encounters.
In a naturalistic rendition of David vs. Goliath, a 28-pound Reeves’s muntjac named Tata, a small deer species native to Asia, took on Maruśka, a 1.7-ton female rhinoceros, in a fierce head-to-head at the Wroclaw Zoo in Poland.
A video that’s gone viral on social media shows the miniature deer fiercely standing its ground and charging at the far more massive rhino, clashing into its horn-tipped snout with tiny antlers.
At first, the rhino appears to be amused, waving its head around. But by the end of the video, it’s clear who won the confrontation: the muntjac.
Tiny 13kg deer takes on 1.7-tonne rhino at Wroclaw Zoo A case of David vs Goliath at Wroclaw Zoo, as a tiny 13kg deer takes on a nearly two-tonne rhinoceros and appears to come out of the clash on top. pic.twitter.com/aKFpwP8VJd
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 9, 2026
In a post on Facebook, the zoo joked in Polish that “someone probably forgot to look in the mirror this morning.”
“He has to discharge energy and show who’s boss — even if the sparring partner weighs 1.7 tons,” it wrote. “Who would have thought that such a warrior lurks in this tiny body?” the post reads.
Other netizens were equally amused.
“Something about the ridiculous power scaling makes this hilarious,” one Reddit user wrote. “Rhino could squish muntjac under foot and instead they’re both dancing around.”
Reeves’s muntjacs are native to southeastern China and Taiwan, but they’ve been introduced to parts of Europe as well. Males typically have short antlers that measure up to four inches, as well as tiny tusks that can reach up to two inches in length.
They’re also known to make a dog bark-like sound during mating or when provoked — which is far more blood-curdling than its diminutive size might suggest.
As local news outlet Zielony Wrocław reports, rhinos usually tolerate the presence of other animals in their territory, given their lack of fear towards any other species — except tigers.
Wrocław zookeeper Maciej Okupnik explained to the publication that muntjacs and rhinos often interact with each other both in nature and in captivity. Despite muntjaks being “very territorial,” the two species get along just fine.
“This time, Tata got a little carried away by his hormones, but he wasn’t really taking any risks,” Wrocław zookeeper Maciej Okupnik told the outlet, as translated by The Telegraph. “It’s more like theatre and you can see Maruska is having a little fun.”
More on animals in captivity: Zoo Requests Unwanted Pets to Feed to Hungry Carnivores
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