Tag: hippos

Watch: ‘Massive’ lion forces standoff with safari vehicle

Footage captured recently in South Africa’s Kruger National Park shows a large male lion in a brief but dramatic standoff with a safari vehicle.

When you’re on a photo safari in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, you pass the king of beasts on his terms.

The accompanying footage, featured Friday by Wildest Kruger Sightings, shows a ‘massive’ male lion in a dramatic standoff with a safari vehicle.

The driver attempts to pass as the lion has his back to the vehicle, facing a lioness napping on the road’s edge.

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But in a swift about-face, issuing a roar of disapproval, the lion forces a standoff that lasts several seconds before the lion determines the threat has passed.

The passengers, only feet away, undoubtedly captured incredible images before the lion turned away.

In another dramatic display this past week in Kruger, a smaller male lion found itself facing down several angry hippos after becoming stranded on a rock in a river.

The lion leaped and began to swim when the closest hippo lunged with its enormous mouth agape. Another hippo went after the lion, but the lion was too quick.

–Image courtesy of Wildest Kruger Sightings

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Rare footage shows hippos attacking lion stranded on rock

Rare footage captured in South Africa shows several hippos confronting a lion stranded on a rock, and one hippo in full attack mode.

A lion that had become stranded on a rock in a South African river soon discovered that it had much larger problems.

The accompanying footage, featured Tuesday by Latest Sightings, shows several hippos confronting the lion and one hippo in full attack mode, forcing the lion to leap and flee toward shore.

The encounter, captured by Steyn Jacobson and witnessed by guests of South Post at Kruger, occurred on the Crocodile River in Kruger National Park.

Latest Sightings explains that several agitated hippos began to circle the rock when all of the sudden, according to Jacobson, “A big hippo went for the lion, and the lion had no choice but to jump off and into the water. In the end, another hippo went for the lion, but luckily, he missed it.”

The young male lion, possibly trying to cross the river to establish his own territory, was not injured during the encounter.

–Image courtesy of Latest Sightings

Watch: Hippos rescue wildebeest from attacking crocodiles

A visitor at South Africa’s Kruger National Park has captured a remarkable scene in which hippos rescued a wildebeest from attacking crocodiles.

A tour guide at South Africa’s Kruger National Park has captured a dramatic and remarkable scene in which hippos rescued a wildebeest from attacking crocodiles.

The accompanying graphic footage, captured by Chase Kurucz, shows two large crocodiles clutching the wildebeest by its head and leg, respectively, at water’s edge.

“We stopped to watch all the animals come down to drink and saw a cool heron surfing on the back of a hippo, it was an enjoyable sight,” Kurucz, of Chasin’ Africa Safaris, is quoted by News 24.

“An unsuspecting group of wildebeest sauntered down to the water’s edge for a drink when a huge crocodile jumped right out and immediately grabbed one of the wildebeest, keeping its jaws locked on the animals head.”

As stated in the video, the crocs were attempting to drag the wildebeest into the water to spin and drown the animal. But their plan was doomed thanks to the presence of so many massive hippos.

One hippo is seen charging the crocs and several others surround them in a show of force that ultimately prompts the crocs to release their grasp on their prey.

Kurucz wasn’t sure if the hippos wanted in on the wildebeest kill or were merely trying to thwart the crocs’ attempts at securing a feast.

“They kept the wildebeest surrounded and it all looked like a pretty hopeless situation,” he said. “[But] the wildebeest was obviously exhausted and it seemed as if the hippos sensed its fear of the whole ordeal.

“They calmly kept close to the wildebeest but he seemed to have picked up a second wind changing direction and seeking another escape route.”

The wildebeest found that route but paused for several seconds before continuing toward shore with a badly injured leg.

The footage, captured at Gezanftombi Dam, was shared to Facebook by Latest Sightings – Greater Kruger on Wednesday.

Impala beats all odds, escapes wild dogs, crocodiles and hippos

Video shows an impala avoiding 16 wild dogs, then risking its life by swimming with crocodiles and hippos in what was a great escape.

An impala surrounded by a pack of wild dogs had no other choice than to risk its life by taking a swim with crocodiles and hippos in what could be called a great escape.

Ranger Daniel Hitchings was guiding a safari at the Thornybush Game Reserve within Kruger National Park in South Africa when the impala beat all odds with incredible quickness and agility, avoiding the wild dogs and taking a jump into the water.

As 16 wild dogs watched helplessly, the impala swam toward the other side of the watering hole where a pod of hippos awaited.

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The impala swerved to avoid the hippos and somehow avoided being taken under by crocodiles, making it safely to the other side before prancing away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDW2RQp8638&t=52s

“For the impala to escape the wild dogs and then not got taken down by the crocodiles in there and get past the hippos was quite amazing,” Hitchings told Latest Sightings. “Sometimes luck is on your side and sometimes it isn’t.

“It was this impala’s day”

Raging elephant causes chaos at watering hole; baby hippo fights back

An elephant in Kruger National Park went on the rampage at a watering hole, trumpeting and chasing hippos and terrorizing a baby hippo in a “one-of-a-kind interaction.”

An elephant in Kruger National Park went on the rampage at a watering hole, trumpeting and chasing hippos and terrorizing a baby hippo in a “one-of-a-kind interaction” at the famous park in South Africa.

Gordon Crundwell, 57, was on safari with his wife near Shingwedzi in the northern part of the park when he videotaped the bedlam as a result of a raging elephant. He shared the footage with Latest Sightings, which called it a one-of-a-kind interaction, as did Crundwell.

“In over 50 years of visiting game parks, I have never seen an elephant and hippo interaction like this,” Crundwell told Latest Sightings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miCZsTs-cM0&t=62s

The safari stopped at a viewpoint and noticed the watering hole with more than 25 hippos, and crocodiles lying on the bank. Then an elephant came down for a drink from the pool.

“But he seemed to get upset with the hippos and got into the water and started chasing them,” Crundwell explained.

“The elephant was getting more agitated and started thrashing and trumpeting, causing chaos in the pool. The elephant started chasing all the hippos out of the pool. During the commotion, a baby hippo was left alone on the sandbank. The elephant walked towards the baby and started pushing it around with his trunk, he then threw the baby in the air further up the sandbank.

“Luckily he left the baby hippo alone and returned to the water where he continued to trumpet and thrash the water around. The action did not stop there. The baby hippo seemed okay and returned to the water where he then followed the elephant. While the elephant was getting out of the water the baby hippo was nipping at his rear foot – this seemed to further agitate the elephant who then tried to kick the baby hippo away.”

At the 58-second mark, you can see the baby hippo chasing the elephant out of the water, attempting to fight back.

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“The baby hippo continued to follow the elephant out of the water where a rock blocked what appeared to be another angry attack on the baby hippo. The elephant lost interest quite quickly and walked away.”

The crocodiles certainly didn’t mind the mayhem.

“While the elephant was causing such a commotion, the crocodiles were feasting on the fish that had been chased onto the bank,” Crundwell said.

Photos courtesy of Latest Sightings.