Purette van Heerden, 42, an animal conservation enthusiast, had volunteered to help with the relocation of a rhino calf and her cow to a game reserve in Limpopo.

She was standing in a holding pen with her daughter, 21, watching farm employees dart the rhino cow and her calf, when another rhino charged at her, and repeatedly "rolled her around," Beeld reported.

The rhino cow stopped when her daughter screamed.

"I was able to actually pull myself upright, holding onto the rhino's horn," Van Heerden said.

She sustained multiple fractures to her pelvis, and later received emergency treatment in a Pretoria hospital.

"Animals are my passion, and when I'm well again, I'll continue to help them... the accident was entirely my fault -- I was in their territory," she said.