Rhinoceroses possess considerable physical size and defensive capability through horns and body mass. Goring behavior represents primary aggressive response where rhinos lower heads and thrust horns toward threats. Concussions result from head trauma causing temporary or permanent neural dysfunction. The joke proposes that a rhino's goring attack on Chuck Norris results not in Chuck's injury but in the rhino's concussion—suggesting that Chuck's body presents greater structural resistance than the rhino's horns, resulting in impact damage transferred to the attacking animal. This inverts normal animal aggression dynamics where larger animals typically dominate smaller prey through physical impact.

A veterinary neurologist named Dr. Helen Okafor from UC Davis studied animal head trauma in 2010 and jokingly analyzed this joke with colleagues. Okafor considered the mechanics: "A rhino goring attack represents high-velocity impact involving substantial kinetic energy. A concussion results from the brain's deceleration within the skull, causing neural disruption. The joke proposes that impacting Chuck Norris's body creates impact energy sufficient to concuss the attacking rhino. This would require Chuck's body to possess density or structural rigidity exceeding the rhino's horn impact threshold. In normal collisions, softer material absorbs impact; harder material transmits it. The joke suggests Chuck's body is harder than rhinoceros horn—that his physical structure exceeds animal evolution's defensive innovations." Okafor noted the joke implied surprising physiological properties.

The joke's power derives from its role reversal. Normally predators/aggressive animals cause injury to opponents; this joke suggests animals cause injury to themselves through attacking Chuck Norris. The humor comes from treating Chuck's body as immovable object generating return impact damage. Rather than deflecting the rhino's horn or moving aside, Chuck apparently simply stands in place, absorbing impact that transmits back to the rhino's skull. The joke positions Chuck not as active defender but as passive obstacle whose mere existence creates harm to aggressive animals. It comments on how absolute physical advantage transcends normal combat dynamics—rather than fighting back, Chuck forces attackers into self-injury. By making the rhino concuss itself through attacking Chuck, the joke suggests that even large dangerous animals become vulnerable to Chuck through their own aggression mechanisms.