The tiny hippo was assaulted by the elephant which, blinded by rage, pummeled into it, stabbing at it with its tusks and knocking it to the ground with force.
Peaceful river setting interrupted when lone elephant arrives
Stopping at one of the viewpoints near the camp, Gordon and his wife noticed that the pool was full of hippos. They counted over 25 of the magnificent animals. Crocodiles lazed on the river bank, while the hippos splashed in the water.
A hippo herd typically consists of 10 to 100 individuals. Most members are females, although young males may remain in the group as long as they remain submissive to the dominant male.
Raging elephant refuses to share waterhole with hippos
However peaceful the setting was, this tranquility didn’t last for long. An elephant came down to drink in the pool and wasn’t pleased to see the many hippos in the waters.
“He seemed to get upset with the hippos and got into the water and started chasing them,” said Gordon.
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It thrashed about in the water, walking among the hippos, and using its trunk and tusks to intimidate them.
At one point, it started to trumpet, causing chaos in the pool. This was not a happy elephant!
Baby hippo left vulnerable in the open
The territorial elephant didn’t fancy the idea of spending his time in the water with 25 hippos. It started chasing them out of the pool, creating a huge commotion.
As the hippos moved aside to let it through, and as it chased them out of the way, a baby hippo was left alone on the sandbank.
Gordon described how the elephant pushed the baby around with its trunk and even threw the little animal up in the air. “Luckily he left the baby hippo alone and returned to the water where he continued to trumpet and thrash the water around,” he said.
“Luckily he left the baby hippo alone and returned to the water where he continued to trumpet and thrash the water around.”
Bully elephant shows baby hippo who is boss
The action did not stop there, however. While the baby hippo seemed to have survived the confrontation, it then returned to the water and followed after the elephant!
When the elephant eventually did get out of the water, the baby hippo was at its heels, nipping at its rear foot. This resulted in a new attack on the baby hippo.
Fortunately for the little guy, the elephant quickly lost interest and left the young animal alone.
Said Gordon: “In over 50 years of visiting game parks, I have never seen an elephant and hippo interaction like this! If you see something different going on, keep the camera rolling as you never know what you might capture!”
