6 Animals That Could Defeat a Hippopotamus
Hippos may seem like gentle, whimsical animals,
but any naturalist will tell you they're every bit as dangerous as lions or wolves:
Not only can a hippopotamus open its mouth at a 150-degree angle,
but it can bite an unwary tourist completely in half with a ferocious force of 2,000 PSI.
Oddly enough for an animal with such a deadly bite, the hippopotamus is a confirmed vegetarian,
males use their foot-long canine
and incisor teeth to duel with other males during mating season,
and to intimidate any nearby cats
whose extreme hunger threatens to overwhelm their common sense.
Ungainly as it is, the hippopotamus is the world's deadliest large land mammal,
killing an estimated 500 people per year in Africa.
They grow to between 3.3 to 5 meters long and up to 1.6 m tall at the shoulder.
The average female weighs around 1,300 kilograms,
while males can weigh an average of 1,500 kg. The largest males can weigh 3-4 T.
Here are 6 animals that can defeat a hippo,
but they are arranged randomly, not in order of strength.
Because there are quite a few species that can defeat hippos in their environment,
so I will add two species that are out of the hippo's environment.
6. Elephant
Hippos are no match for an adult elephant.
Elephants are at least twice the size of the hippo.
They are also so tall that a hippo’s formidable jaws can’t reach
any besides their legs and trunk.
Trying to attack either of those is a mistake.
Aim for an elephant’s legs, then you get stepped on.
Mess with the trunk, they will flip you over.
Even if the hippo did successfully ambush and bite the elephant,
the elephant would rear back in pain from being bitten
and then spear a tusk through the hippo.
That would cause massive damage to the hippo’s body or organs,
instantly debilitating or outright killing them.
If this angry male wished, he could have stomped the poor hippo to death.
Elephants have also been known to kill rhinos, which are larger than hippos.
Elephants are the only animal that can actually walk right into the middle of a hippo
herd without much of getting attacked,
because the hippos all know even a single elephant could main or kill
a number before they drove it off.
This even applies if the hippos are in the water.
5. Crocodile
It has long been known that the rivalry between hippos and crocodiles is quite high.
The infamous giant Nile Crocodile Gustave has reportedly preyed on hippos.
Gustave however is a rare specimen that is estimated to weigh well over a ton
and even then,
it's most likely he kills hippos through an ambush instead of a head on confrontation.
Although crocodiles are equipped with sharp claws and teeth to hunt and kill prey,
for the most part, crocodiles avoid hippos since
they instinctively know a hippo will attack them if they get too close,
hence why if you see any documentary footage of hippos and crocodiles,
the crocodiles either keep their distance or run.
If a crocodile were to see a hippo and want to hunt it,
the crocodile would need assistance from others.
That is for an individual hippo,
since hippos live in herds that only makes them even more dangerous.
There have been rare cases of individual hippos walking into crowds of crocodiles,
and the reptiles use the advantage of their numbers to kill the much larger animal.
But like I said this is rare.
4. Lions
Most often, relatively speaking, hippos have been killed by lion prides.
A smart lion pride that knows how to go about attacking a hippo
can keep it from escaping into the water
and allow their numbers to triumph over its sheer size.
Lions cannot kill adult hippos by knocking them to the ground
but must kill them with a lot of serious wounds.
This is also not commonly seen.
Hippos spend most of their time in the water where a lion won’t dare go after them,
and their herds greatly outnumber the lion prides.
If a lion pride can’t isolate a hippo, then they won’t bother.
Also, not every lion pride that attacks a hippo
will have a clear plan as to what they are trying to do in which case the hunt typically fails.
It is not surprising that hippos have also killed lions as a result.
This only applies when the whole pride is hunting.
If a lion is alone it generally won’t dare attack a hippo, the size gap is too great.
If lions aren’t looking to hunt, they also won’t get into a fight with a hippo.
Lions have the advantage in speed, and they can catch up to a hippo in the wild,
but they probably do not want to.
The better, safer option is to just evacuate the area or bring along enough of the pride to win.
3. White Rhinoceros
Rhinos have very poor eyesight, some of the worst in the animal kingdom.
Rhinoceros rely on their sense of smell to see their surroundings,
so if a rhino comes upon an angry tempered hippo,
the rhino's eyesight would be too poor to attack with a full head on charge.
If the hippo is too far from water, the rhino probably wins.
On land, the rhino has the hippo beat in terms of speed, maneuverability, and weight.
The rhino’s best strategy against a hippo is by ramming it at full speed with its horn.
To get to its full speed it will need to be at a far distance,
which would put it out of viewing range of the hippo.
The rhino can charge the hippo,
and while his horn isn’t as hard as the ivory tusks of a hippo,
it is still plenty hard enough to penetrate a hippo’s skin.
After enough horn-sized holes are poked through its hide,
the hippo will eventually bleed out and die.
2. Kodiak Bear
Kodiak bears weigh an astonishing 1,500lb and have a bite force of around 1000 PSI.
The Kodiak bear on the other hand has enough tools to successfully hunt down a hippo.
It has a bone crushing bite, bone breaking swipes,
5-inch claws that pierce the hippo's 2-inch skin,
and a greater 35 mph speed and stamina compared to hippos' 19 mph speed.
Although it wouldn't be a clean kill
as the bear would most likely have to launch a prolonged attack damaging the hippo's spine
while avoiding its mouth which isn't beyond his ability.
Considering smaller grizzlies can take animals nearly three times their size
and polar bear may hunt bull walrus whose weight overlaps with hippo,
I think a huge male can win a fight with a hippo.
For example, a bear weighing 700 kg can defeat a hippo weighing 1.3 T.
1. Killer Whale
I know this meeting is impossible.
Like the one with the Kodiak bear above,
but definitely in a fight between these two animals, the orca will win!
The killer whale is the biggest member of the dolphin family.
Males orcas are up to 32 feet in length and weigh up to 10 tons,
well above the weight of the hippopotamus.
Killer whales also possess a bite force strong enough to hunt small whales.
The only place this fight can take place is in the water,
and the killer whale is clearly a much better swimmer.
All of the oceans everywhere they want to go have no natural predators.
Hippos don’t really run into orcas
but if they did they would end up similar to the mighty walrus
which would be probably the best comparison.
The walrus is one of the prey of killer whales.
So, an orca would easily kill a hippopotamus!
Thanks for watching,
I'll see you in the next video.