The video opens with a male lion crouching in the grass to stalk a hippopotamus roaming the shore. Usually, both hippos and lions will move in packs. However, in this video, two animals are caught up in a battle for survival with them being the only “players”.
According to the video’s description, this hippo seems to be engrossed in feeding on the shore. Perhaps, due to the scarcity of food in the dry season, it has to leave the riverbank in search of food far from the shore.
The hippo’s reckless decision was immediately punished, when it encountered the lion – the most feared hunter on the African grasslands. When the male lion charged, the hippo did not even detect the presence of the enemy even when it was very close.
The hippo’s hesitation surprised even the lion somewhat. It froze for a moment. But when the prey ran away, the lion still managed to gain momentum to pounce and easily defeat the hippo with a fatal bite to the neck.
Hippos live in the freshwater rivers and lakes of Africa. They are considered the strongest species in the waters of the black continent, even the famous Nile crocodile is often bullied by them.
However, when hippos leave shallow water to feed on land (because they hardly eat aquatic plants), this animal is easily defeated by terrestrial predators such as lions, cheetahs. , hyena… due to clumsy body, poor eyesight.
In addition, having to move away from their preferred environment also makes hippos lose their territorial nature – which is what makes them aggressive and dangerous. When food is scarce in the dry season, hippos can feed from 4 km – 10 km away from the riverbank.
When attacked by a lion, the only way for the hippopotamus to save itself is to quickly escape into the water, but once the lion prevents it from entering the water, the hippo is now left to die.
Even so, hippos are not a frequent target of lions. They only choose hippos as prey when force majeure.