Life in the wilderness can be tough, with essential actions like having a drink carrying the extreme risk of being vulnerable to water-dwelling animals like this enormous and dangerous hippo.
This lion pride at the Kapama game reserve must have been aware of the risks but like every other animal on the planet, water was essential for their survival, and they needed to get a drink.
Ominous Approach
There were several lions already on the banks of the watering hole by the time the hippo got close to them. They were enjoying a nice drink in the heat of the day, while keeping a wary eye on the threat which was steadily approaching.
With only the top of its head poking up above the water, the hippo closed in at a moderate speed, surely already aware that it had been detected, but unwilling to expend too much effort to frighten the big cats too soon.
As it moved closer, the lions began to get a little more worried about its presence. There was no way that they could justify its approach as a coincidence, and one lioness decided it wasn’t worth the risk and retreated from the water’s edge, quickly followed by the other.
Establishing Territorial Boundaries
The only male lion present was also keeping a close watch on the approaching hippo, but he didn’t retreat until the hippo actively spooked him and the lionesses accompanying him.
Once the first two lionesses had retreated, the hippo must have thought it was going to lose the opportunity to properly scare the big cats away, so it heaved its enormous body out of the water in a small bound that demonstrated its strength.
It didn’t move far, but to displace that much water with its little jump did show just how much muscle these animals are hiding beneath their deceptively fat appearance, and simultaneously take it into shallower waters where it could quickly accelerate.
Hippos might emerge from their watery homes to graze during the cooler temperatures of the night, but they are also fiercely territorial of that same water, and when other animals approach they become targets of its wrath.
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Big Scaredy Cats
The lions would have been more than capable of outrunning the hippo if the situation had demanded it, and they didn’t retreat too far. They moved back to a safe distance, ready to flee further if the hippo pursued them, but otherwise held their ground.
Angered by their reluctance to flee, the hippo made as if to chase the lions several times to try and scare them into retreating further, but ultimately it didn’t feel the need to fully leave the water.
One thing was for certain, the lions were definitely going to keep their distance, as a second hippo made its presence known to help the first in deterring them, and the risks of approaching the water became far too great.
They seemed aware that the hippos were unlikely to follow them far from the water, and lingered in the dunes on the banks while they considered their next moves.