Nature
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There aren't many in the animal world that would like to go toe to toe with a lion. However, despite what Disney movies would have you believe, lions aren’t actually ruling the jungle and there are a few species willing to put up a fight. Especially this angry hippo, filmed in Zambia.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Shenton Safaris posted the incident on Facebook, when a male lion was crossing the Luangwa river and was chased by a large hippopotamus. Senior guide Patrick and his guests witnessed the moment as the lion attempted to swim rapidly to the bank on the other side.
Contrary to popular belief, hippos can’t really swim. Instead they run along the bottom of the river bed. According to BBC Discover Wildlife, they are among the most dangerous animals in the world, thought to cause 500 deaths per year annually. This is largely because hippos are quite territorial and often capsize boats that venture into their territory.
While male lions can weigh as much as 190 kilograms (419 pounds) and stand at roughly 1 meter tall (3.5 feet) at the shoulder, an adult hippo can weigh well over 1,500 kilograms and be taller than 1.5 meters (5.2 feet) at the shoulder. While normally thought of as herbivores eating mainly grasses and plants near the river, hippos have been observed eating meat and in rare cases even other hippos.
In case that wasn’t scary enough, hippos also have bright red sweat – but don’t worry, it's not the blood of those foolish enough to get in their way.
Fortunately, the lion managed to make a speedy getaway and made it safely onto dry land. Lions and other big cats are surprisingly strong swimmers and recent drone footage even revealed a pair of lion brothers making a record-breaking swim in Uganda.
