Forget the pleasingly-plump-but-graceful, tutu-wearing hippo of Disney fame. An African legend relates that the creator fashioned the hippo from leftover parts at the end of the day. Embarrassed by its appearance the hippo asked to live hidden underwater. The creator refused, afraid that the giant would consume all the fish in the rivers. As a compromise, the hippo agreed to spread its dung on land so that the kingfisher could inspect it for fish bones. This ignoble beginning must have made hippos rather bitter for the beasts are the most hot-tempered creatures on earth. Irritable and filthy, this behemoth is considered by experts to be the most dangerous animal in Africa. In Greek, hippopotamus means “river horse,” and every year they kill more humans than the African lion.
Averaging 11 ft. in length and 5ft. tall at the shoulders, hippos can weigh up to 8,000 pounds. Do not think however that you will outstrip a perturbed hippopotamus. Their running speed on land is 18 mph, and some particularly robust specimens have been clocked at 25 mph. With teeth up to 20 inches long and a head which it uses for a battering-ram against potential rivals and threats, the hippo is formidable on land, but it is in the water that the animal is most dangerous. They are unafraid of humans, and will defend their territory or offspring against all comers. Most fatalities occur when the victim gets between a mother and calf or between any hippo and deep water—the hippo’s refuge from danger. But they are unpredictable. David Livingstone in his journals provides a vivid account of an unprovoked attack by a hippo, “snorting like a monster bassoon,” which nearly upset his canoe, and recently one over-turned a canoe from which a man was shooting. When the astonished hunter surfaced, the hippo bit off his head.
We will not discuss this animal’s mode de toilette which involves spinning its short tail like an electric fan. Let it suffice to say that a mechanical fertilizer spreader is not needed if you happen to have a hippo on the farm.
Ever intrepid, we at FootageBank HD have recently captured this fearsome creature, as well as most other African animals, in High Definition 50i and 24p formats. To view and download some of our hippo clips, click here.
