Check Out These Hippos Save A Wildebeest From A Crocodile Attack

Mervyn Van Wyk and his wife Tokkie were touring South Africa’s Kruger National Park and had made their way to the park’s Transport Dam. They decided to make a pit stop so they could capture some images of blue wildebeests also known as gnus. Along with the gnus were zebras and impalas grazing peacefully on the other side of the dam. Suddenly the couple noticed a disturbing sight.

Croc attack

They saw that a crocodile had latched its jaws on to the hoof of a hind leg of a wildebeest and was doing its utmost to drag the animal into the water. The battle between hunter and prey went on for about eight minutes after which it looked like the crocodile was headed for victory. Fortunately for the wildebeest, two figures appeared out of nowhere. Mr Van Wyk who is 72 initially believed that the figures were of other crocodiles approaching but realised it was actually two hippos.

Bad tempers

Hippos are probably the most dangerous animals in the savannah and are notoriously bad tempered. These warriors approached the scene quietly and then suddenly charged at the crocodile providing the wildebeest with the opportunity to escape albeit with a leg that appeared to be severely broken. Mr Van Wyk said he and his wife could not believe what they were seeing. They had never seen hippos come to the aid of another species and what they witnessed and managed to capture on camera was simply astonishing.

Protecting their territories

It should be noted that the hippos were probably not knights in shining armour but instead were aggressive territorial animals that were simply chasing away a crocodile and a wildebeest that had intruded on their turf! No matter what their reasons, that wildebeest got lucky.