From Steve Gettle
“Battle Royale” - Hippopotamus - Luango National Park, Zambia
This was one of the most epic battles I have ever witnessed in the natural world. It simply amazes me the power it took to lift the 3,000 lb bull off the ground like that. These two went at it hard for about a half hour, they were a bloody mess at the end.
Good Luck and Good Light! Steve
Image: Hippopotamus - Luango National Park, Zambia Nikon Z9, 600mm TC, 1/1000 @ f10, ISO 640, Image cropped 20% for final composition
Hippos are absolutely terrifying. 2-4% body fat, they are pretty much thousands of pounds of pure muscle.
I am a huge fan of hippos, and I think they are the true king of beasts. Those giant teeth, crushing jaws, surprisingly quick top speed, equally dangerous on land and water, and one of the few animals that will go after humans, they are very intimidating animals.
With that said, I did get to boop a hippo, and that is one of my favorite accomplishments ever. I thought it felt like a giant strawberry. Leathery, but smooth, and the little dimples where the whiskers come out reminded me of the seeds.
Their enclosure behind the scenes of their exhibit looked straight out of Jurassic Park, with 4" steel bars on everything and all types of mechanical gates. I also got to feed them, and it was like throwing food down a huge garbage shoot. It was fun in that scenario, but if those huge bars weren’t there, that would be quite the terrifying last sight.
That’s an awesome opportunity! I would still be scared to do it even to a hippo in a zoo hahaha.
I am normally a fairly cautious person, but put an animal in front of me and you are almost guaranteed a “hold my beer” moment. 😄
Also, more terrifying than that, every once in a while, Jim Carrey comes crawling out of one.
Nah, that’s a trait of rhinos, not hippos.
Though they look similar in some ways, rhinos are odd-toed ungulates, making them relatives of horses and tapirs, while hippos are even-toed ungulates most closely related to cetaceans like whales and dolphins.