Notoriously aggressive, hippopotami are some of the deadliest land animals to humans, causing around 500 casualties annually.
Most hippo-related attacks occur when people encroach upon their territory, whether by boat, canoe, bike, or foot.
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In 2018, wildlife photographer Adrian Hirschi captured an image of a hippo bull holding an infant hippo in distress, winning him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019.
Adrian explained in a background story of the image that he was visiting Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe and watching a herd of hippos while his party took a tea break from their safari. Their guide noted that the baby hippo was at a vulnerable age.
Preying on babies in a herd is not entirely uncommon in the animal kingdom. There are a few eyewitness reports every year of hippos, in particular, committing this heinous act.
Prof. Rebecca Lewison concluded in a study on hippos preying on baby hippos that this act may be a strategy by which bulls increase reproductive success. She found that bulls are more likely to kill young hippos during times of drought or resource scarcity.
It’s hard to accept that this as a natural behavior practiced by animals, but intervening would mean disturbing the social dynamics that have shaped their populations for as long as they have been around.