Reverse! Hyena Makes a Quick Getaway From a Sleeping Hippo That Wakes Up

Discretion is advised for strong language. This could have been the biggest (and last) mistake of this hyena’s life. The hungry scavenger has crept through some deep mud to get to what looked like a huge meal – a dead hippo carcass. Only the hippo was not dead at all – just sleeping! In this hilarious clip, you see that hyena realizes its mistake and tries to creep away before the hippo can turn around. This hippo is amazingly agile for such a large animal moving through deep mud. The hyena barely gets away with it!

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Do Hyenas Normally Eat Hippos?

Hyenas are carnivores and are fairly flexible when it comes to what they eat. They most frequently target medium to large ungulates, so you will see them hunting wildebeest, impala, and warthogs. However, they will also sometimes hunt larger animals, including, buffalo and hippos, although they focus on younger individuals rather than adults. In between larger kills, they hunt small mammals such as hares and baboons. Rarely, you will see them hunting reptiles, birds, and fish, and they will also eat invertebrates.

A hippo would be a huge challenge for a hyena, but it would stand a better chance if it was working with the rest of its pack. Hippo carcasses are a different matter and would provide an easy meal. This hyena probably couldn’t believe its luck – until the hippo moved!

What Do Hippos Normally Eat?

This hippo chased the hyena away, which is typical behavior. Hippos have no patience with hyenas because they pinch their calves. However, even if the hippo had managed to kill the hyena, would it have eaten it?

Hippos are primarily herbivores. They graze on land close to water. This creates ‘hippo lawns’ of areas of grass kept short by their continual grazing. They grasp the grass with their horny lips and move their head from side to side to tear it off. Their preference is for short, creeping grass species such as Cynodon. They can eat up to 88 pounds of grass a day, but their metabolic rate is so low that they can survive for weeks without food.

Recent research has suggested that hippos both scavenge carcasses and hunt. They even steal carcasses from other animals! Hunting, however, uses up a lot of energy, and most hippos would rather opt for grass, which doesn’t make them chase it!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Sergei Uriadnikov