There are three words
that put the fear of death
into the very bravest of souls.
Three words to make your blood run cold.
While they make look adorable,
hippos are not sweet, gentle creatures.
They are the deadliest animal on the Nile River,
with their human body count
topping that of lions.
It's estimated that they kill 500 people
per year In Africa.
Having said that,
I’ve got good news
and bad news for you.
The bad news is
you’ve just wandered into the hippo's home,
and it is very,
very angry.
The good news is, we’re here to help.
Today we're going to learn
Hippos are the third-largest
land mammal in the world
after elephants
and white rhinos.
A female hippo can weigh approximately
1,400 kg (3,100 lbs)
with males weighing up to
4,500 kg (9,000 lbs).
But don’t let their hefty size fool you.
Hippos are surprisingly adept
and can run up to 48 km/h (30 mph).
That’s as fast as horses.
And one has you and your boat in its sights.
Okay, this is a tough one.
Hippos are vegetarians
and don’t eat humans,
but that doesn’t mean it won’t rip you apart.
Hippos are very easily startled,
and if you surprise one,
well, it was nice knowing you.
(CRUNCH)
What you want to do is,
while standing far enough away,
make loud noises to let it know you’re there.
Hopefully, this will cause them to go away.
If not …
Watch carefully.
These next few seconds may be the difference
between life and death.
Aww, Mrs. Hippo is yawning.
Oh, she's so sleepy.
WRONG!
Yawning is an early warning sign
that you’re getting too close for comfort.
If you’re nearby in the same waterway,
turn around and leave as fast as you can.
Hippos are extremely territorial,
so make sure you put as much distance
between you and the hippo as you can,
by going in the other direction.
OK, good,
now just back out very slowly and
OH NO! you’ve been spotted.
Hippos can easily outrun your tiny human legs,
but that doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t give it a shot.
Beats staying here, right?
You need to avoid moving in a straight line
and find obstacles
to help slow the hippo down
Use things like rocks
and termite mounds.
The best move you could make
is to climb into a tree,
or up onto a hill
where it won’t be able to reach you.
So hopefully,
you’ve made it to higher ground.
But if not,
brace yourself.
Hippos have a bite force
of over 13,000 kPA (2,000 psi)
and can open their mouths 180 degrees.
That’s enough to bite
an adult crocodile in half.
If you are unfortunate enough
to be in the horrifying grips of a hippo,
try to punch or kick
its snout or go for their eyes.
If your arms are already in the hippo's throat,
try to reach for the back of their throat
and grab anything in its mouth.
You want to make the animal
as uncomfortable as possible.
It’s not time to play nice.
You have to fight dirty.
If you put up enough of a fuss,
hopefully, the hippo will be
too uncomfortable to deal with you.
Next, get the heck out of there!
Hopefully, you'll never find yourself
in this dire situation.
Hippos are considered to be
the most dangerous animal in Africa,
and their attacks leave very few survivors.
Thankfully for you,
it’s pretty hard to stumble on them by accident.
Unlike deadly snakes
or spiders,
which you can easily walk into,
you are in no danger
of suddenly coming upon a hippo.
That is,
unless you’re watching this video
on a dense, grassy plane.
While we’ve gone into several steps
to protect yourself,
the best way to survive a hippo attack
is to stay away.
Phew, I think you lost them.
Better keep moving and
uh oh.
Your leg is stuck.
In your panic,
you’ve run straight into quicksand.
This isn’t your day is it?
Well, the good news is,
we're here to help you survive
whatever life throws at you.