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In the mythology of the Lambas people of Zambia, there is a creature called the Ichisonga. It is a herbivore, and very rhinoceros-like in appearance.

Upon hearing a hippopotamus, it allegedly sneaks up on the hippo and then stabs it to death with its horn. It has a similar hatred of elephants and will stand by an elephant carcass in spite until rots away.

Imagine that the Ichisonga was a real creature, a species of rhinoceros inhabiting Africa. Why would it - a herbivore - be so aggressive towards hippos and elephants? There are cases of herbivores exhibiting somewhat predatory behaviour, like Cape buffaloes, which actively seek out, stalk and kill lion cubs and even injured humans, but why specifically hippos and elephants?

It could be that ichisongas shared their territories with hippos and elephants for thousands of years and probably due to increasing competition, these ichisongas must have developed a territorial instinct. Probably these ichisongas waited around till the elephants and hippos rotted away to make sure that they were dead and that they won't be back to bother the ichisonga(elephants and hippos are quite the tanks).The hippos are already quite territorial and hence are quite dangerous the any ichisongas in that territory and elephants could probably decimate the ichisongas' territory. To combat this, it might have developed such territorial spite towards the hippos and elephants.

Imagine that the Ichisonga was a real creature, a species of
rhinoceros inhabiting Africa.

Rhinos already behave like this and they are herbivores. They'll attack most things. Of course they lose against elephants but that doesn't stop them trying. Why? Nobody knows!

Rhino versus elephant. https://youtu.be/4sRlnNllql0?t=155

Rhino against just about everything else https://youtu.be/xL6CUdw84jI

Edit

Rhino vs Hippo (the Rhino's horn has been removed to prevent poaching
so it's not a fair fight) https://youtu.be/1Fog6jeeAZk?t=92

A tale of envy.

Hippos.

The Ishisonga remembers swimming as a cub, it loved swimming, it would dive beneath the water and feed on the lush and delicious water-weed, reveling in the cool splasy games with the hippo children, swimming was what it dreampt about, what made life worthwhile.

Then time passed, it grew, it's head heavy with horn it became more and more difficult to keep it above the water, it could not dive for delicacies and return to the surface with such ease, eventualy it could not dive, could not swim. It's dreams were broken Ichitonga was cast onto the dry hot and dusty land it hated so.

At times Ishisonga would take a drink by the rivers and lakes, there would be the hippos - friends of youth, grown now. Their honking laughter would fill the air for miles around, taunting and humiliating Ishisonga. Bitter tears would be all the water Ishitonga would enjoy. Instead of the sweet taste of water-weed, Ichisonga vowed to enjoy the sweet taste of revenge for this betrayal.

Since the hippo children were so lucky as to not grow horns, horns would be their undoing, so Ichisonga took the only weapon it had and ended their laughter, one by one.

Elephants.

Ichsonga wandered the lands in sorrow, envy and anger, feeding on tasteless dry grasses, thorny bushes would scratch and stab at it's lips any time it tried for a succulent leaf, there were none of the sweet fruit Ichitonga remembered as a child and longed for the taste of.

Ichsonga would see sweet fruit, out of reach in the high trees, the monkeys would drop the seeds with a trace of the sweet smell, so tantalising, but Ichisonga could not reach. The elephants would with ease snake their supple trunks to twist the lower fruit away from the tree, then to enjoy the sweet taste, Ichisonga was envious and even sadder.

Ichisonga would wander the savanna, occasionaly stumbling upon the carcass of a hunted elephant, one caught by the big cats or a tribe, then would gaze longingly at the remains imagining the snakey trunk grasping sweet fruit, imagining the taste, wishing there were a way for it to belong to Ichisonga, but there was no way, only more sadness, envy and anger for Ichisonga and dry dusty grass.