Desperate hippo makes a final attempt at a waterhole.
Life is tough in Africa, especially when the try season starts and water sources start to dry up in the hot summer sun. It makes many animals more desperate than they might be normally. For hippos, not being able to find a water hole could be a death sentence.
The lone male hippo in today's video is facing just that scenario in Tanzania. Unluckily for him, this waterhole is already stuffed to the brim with hippos.
The dominant male of this water source is also not happy about the idea of having to share with this potential rival. What ensures after that is a short, yet fearsome battle for one extremely dirty water source.
This was not that hippo's lucky day. The challenger simply could not match the dominant male who controls this water source. Hippos are most territorial when it comes to their water sources, be that a pond, lake, or a river. The water helps the animals stay cool during the hottest part of the day. During the warm season, it helps keep them alive and from suffering the effects of dehydration. We are curious to know what happened to the hippo that lost this battle. Did he find relief elsewhere? Or was that battle the final blow for him? We may never know.
Either way, that was a brutal fight over what appears to be the most disgusting water hole we have ever seen. Hippos just see things differently we suppose.
Combine that short temper with a huge gaping mouth filled with giant, sharp canines, and incisor teeth, and you have an animal you should not mess around with. It should be mentioned, those teeth are only there to inflict damage while fighting. The hippo does not use them for feeding. In the end, this battle helps to demonstrate exactly why the hippopotamus is such a dangerous animal in Africa.
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