Hippos: The Grass-Eater That Rules Africa's Rivers | Real Fights in the Wild

It eats grass. It can't really swim. And yet many experts call it the most dangerous large animal in Africa. The hippopotamus can weigh as much as a small truck, outrun a person over a short distance, and open its jaws to around 150 degrees, showing tusks up to half a meter long. In this episode — with real footage from African rivers: the hippo's surprising family tree (its closest relatives are whales), life underwater, the night-time journeys to graze, brutal battles between males, the uneasy peace with crocodiles and lions, why hippos are so dangerous to people — and the strange story of Pablo Escobar's hippos in Colombia. Episode 2 of "Africa's Deadliest". CHAPTERS 0:00 The most dangerous animal? 1:00 Where it happened 1:25 The river horse 2:32 Life underwater 3:42 The night shift 4:52 Battle of the giants 5:58 Crocodiles and lions 7:03 Hippos and people 8:01 Escobar's hippos 9:06 What's next SOURCES IUCN Red List: Hippopotamus amphibius (Vulnerable) — population estimate of 115,000–130,000 Saikawa et al. (2004), Nature — the pigments of hippo "blood sweat" Boisserie et al. (2005) and later genetic studies — hippos and whales share a common ancestor Subalusky et al. (2017) and other studies on hippos moving nutrients from land to rivers Colombian Ministry of Environment (2022) — invasive hippo population estimate (~170) FOOTAGE CREDITS (Creative Commons Attribution — thank you!) "Hippos fighting" — Erik Steinebach —    • Hippos fighting   "Hippo Rumble", "Hippos in Botswana", "Hippo Number Two" — buckmeister27 —    • Hippo Rumble   ·    • Hippos in Botswana   ·    • Hippo Number Two   "Some Hippos and Crocodiles in Serengeti" — Bali Dave —    • Some Hippos and Crocodiles in Serengeti   "Hippo heads into river", "Pod of Hippos" — Chris' Wildlife Corner —    • Hippo heads into river   ·    • Pod of Hippos   "Hippos playing", "Zebras & hippos", "Hippos in their pool", "Nile crocodiles - Letaba river", "Crocodile carrying impala kill to another pond" — Safari DN —    • Hippos playing   ·    • Zebras & hippos   ·    • Hippos in their sh*t pool   ·    • Nile crocodiles - Letaba river   ·    • Crocodile carrying impala kill to another ...   "Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)" — Hayley Myburgh Safari Guide —    • Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)   "Oxpeckers on Hippo - Zambia Tourism" — Zambia Wildlife Sightings —    • Oxpeckers on Hippo - Zambia Tourism   "1 hour in 1 min Hippos life in Serengeti pool (timelapse)" — Yulia Sundukova —    • 1 hour in 1 min Hippos life in Serengeti p...   "2 Lions at Hippo carcass. Kruger Park." — Majestic Wilderness Africa —    • 2 Lions at Hippo carcass. Live sounds. Tou...   "Crocodile du Nil (Crocodylus nilotica) Nile Crocodile" — Pascal Vagner —    • Crocodile du Nil (Crocodylus nilotica) Nil...   "Lion hunt" — Dmitry Rudnev —    • Lion hunt   "Lion in Action fighting for food" — kvold —    • Lion in Action fighting for food   Photo "Hippos fighting in Amboseli National Park" — Graeme Shannon (Colorado State University), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Photo "Hippo Fight" — safaritravelplus (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons Additional footage: Pexels and Pixabay (free licenses). Real animal sounds: Freesound (CC0). Globe animation, graphics, music and sound design: Tracer Project. Narration uses an AI-generated voice. Script, research and editing by Tracer Project. #Hippo #Wildlife #Africa #AnimalFights #AfricasDeadliest