Huge Hippo Helps Wild Dogs Get Dinner

Key Points:

• In the video, an unfortunate buck is stuck in the mud, a sitting duck for hungry dogs.
• A pack of wild dogs come for the buck, and the buck successfully resists the predators.
• The poor buck gets stuck in the mud again. Then a hippo comes on the scene. It takes charge to get the nuisances (the dogs and buck) out of its mud pit!

A pack of wild dogs in Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa discovered just how large and imposing hippos are when the massive animal stepped in to deal with a buck that was trapped in the mud in the footage below.

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Wild Dogs Work Together

The video begins with the buck fighting off the dogs. Multiple dogs grab onto the larger animal and look like they are about to take it down. The video shows at least five dogs in the pack. More join later. Wild dogs often hunt and travel in packs for this very reason. Working as a pack, they can take on animals that are larger and that they wouldn’t be able to overpower on their own.

The buck manages to get away when a nearby hippo causes a distraction. With just a few steps, the hippo enters the scene, although it doesn’t seem too intent on getting involved. As herbivores, hippos eat plants, mostly grasses and roots near water. So the hippo isn’t interested in having the buck for a meal. Instead, he probably just wants the dogs to take their meal elsewhere and leave him alone.

Stuck in the Mud

The buck gets stuck in thick mud. The hippo nudges and nibbles at him. It looks like he’s almost trying to help his new friend get out of the mud. The buck stays still, however. Maybe he’s stuck. Maybe he’s trying to avoid the wild dogs that are still hovering nearby. Either way, the hippo quickly decides that he’s not interested in sharing his comfortable mud.

As the dogs try to get to the buck without getting stuck themselves, the hippo lunges and grabs the buck in his powerful jaws. Giving the animal a few shakes back and forth, the hippo tosses him up onto the bank. The pack of dogs gets their main course back and quickly drags the buck away from the mud. Happy again, the hippo wallows in his mud.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Radek Borovka/Shutterstock.com