Shark vs hippo is not something we ever expected to see!
One of the great things about the Internet these days is that we get to experience all kinds of unexpected wildlife encounters that the world may not have seen or believed otherwise. Especially when it comes from two creatures that we never in a million years believed would cross paths with one another.
Take the hippopotamus. They are large, mostly aquatic mammals known for their size, big teeth, and extremely short temper. One would expect these animals to normally have run-ins with rhinos, elephants, lions, and crocodiles.
However, in this video, a whole group of them has an unexpected encounter with one of the ocean's most feared predators, the bull shark. Curious about the hippos, the shark comes in again and again to the group, only to be chased off angrily while a boatload of tourists watches from nearby. It is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter that would be hard to believe were it not captured on video.
We would call this face-off a draw. The bull shark got those hippos riled up a bit. Even though they do not normally deal with ocean predators, somehow, they knew the shark was a threat. Of course, this whole encounter only happened because of the bull shark's unique ability not only to live in fresh water, but to thrive in it. It is not uncommon to see these big predatory fish travel dozens of miles upstream in search of a meal.
According to the description, this footage was shot in iSimangliso Wetland Park in South Africa, which borders up against the ocean. It turns out the shark was not after the hippos themselves, as the person who took the video, Stacey Farrell, explained in the description.
"Since hippos defecate in the water, this draws in a lot of fish. If there are a lot of fish, it grabs the attention of nearby sharks looking for a quick meal," Farrell said.
Once the shark was drawn in by the fish, it only makes sense that it made some passes to check the sharks, if out of curiosity if nothing else. Even though bull sharks are common in freshwater, we cannot imagine this interaction between these two species happening too often. It makes for an incredible video. Thanks Farrell, for sharing it with the world!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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