A Hippopotamus is the last thing that would come to your mind when you think of gentle animals. In its native land of Africa, these monsters are known for their deadliness . Being extremely territorial animals and (in)famously ill-tempered, Hippos are known to battle it out with Rhinos, Crocodiles and even packs of Lions. Thanks to them being endowed with a large body, with adult males easily weighing over 3 tons, you would expect the Hippo to be sluggish. But, these monsters can easily outrun a human on land, if they really want to. Overall, the reputation of the Hippo is of something that you would be better off staying away from – unless of course, you are an adult African Elephant.
It is therefore very intriguing to see what you are about to see in this video that has recently gone viral. The same highly territorial, aggressive and deadly Hippo assumes the role of a life saver when it saves the life of a hapless Gnu that was about to become meal for a huge Crocodile. The incident is reported to have happened back in 2011 and was captured by Vadim Onishchenko, an Israeli photographer who was visiting the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya.
The scene is usual kind you are used to seeing from Africa. A timid looking Gnu attempts to cross crocodile infested waters and is caught by a massive jaw that would soon tear it apart. But, it was a bad day at work for the Crocodile because he wasn’t the only huge thing inside the water. Right next to him, watching it all unfold was a Hippo who didn’t look the least bit impressed by the croc’s antics. In fact, the Hippo goes a step ahead and actually intervenes – forcing the Crocodile to let go of its prey – or being risked trampled upon. Now, if you thought this ended there, no, it didn’t. What happens next is even more interesting. The Hippo actually tries to help the Gnu get back to dry land by gently pushing it towards the other side of the river.
When contacted by MailOnline , Vadim said that even the experienced guides at the game reserve were surprised to see this kind of a behavior from the Hippos. He goes on to add that the Gnu eventually managed to walk away from the ordeal and looked uninjured. They couldn’t wait and check what happened next as it was getting dark and had to leave.
Nevertheless, we now have videographic evidence to show that Hippos too have a heart – a kind one at that.