Watch an Angry Hippo Shove a Tiny Zookeeper and ExpelHim From His Enclosure

Aggressive hippo male attacking the car. Huge hippo male intimidating the opponent. Wild animal in the nature habitat. African wildlife. This is Africa. Hippopotamus amphibius.
© PhotocechCZ/Shutterstock.com

Written by Hannah Crawford

Updated: October 31, 2023

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As a zookeeper, getting animals to get along is part of the job. However, getting two angry hippos that are duking it out to get along, maybe not so much. Let’s see what happens below!

Angry Hippo Sighting in China

This Facebook video takes us to Changsha City in China.  This video was uploaded and shared by the Daily Mail Video page. This channel has received more than nine million followers and received over a million likes across all its videos. They caught wind of an angry hippo in China who attacked his zookeeper.

Check Out The Incredible Video Below!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-GK1C&mibextid=Nif5oz&v=883505446694565

Hippo Attacks Zookeeper

At the start of this video, we see a wildlife enclosure for hippos at a local zoo in Changsha City, China. We see the doors opening, and while families expected to see hippos emerge and grab amazing pictures, they were sadly mistaken. 

As the doors start to widen up a bit, the Daily Mail reports that two colossal hippos are clashing and fighting ferociously. If you’ve never seen a scary animal fight, then this video is for you. There is nothing quite like seeing two animals the size of five tons fighting each other. 

What we can’t see is that a zookeeper is stuck inside. We can’t imagine anything more terrifying than not only witnessing it but being stuck in this fight. At 23 seconds, we see the zookeeper outside. In his rush to get out quickly, he slipped and fell outside. 

Just a moment later, we see a massive hippo emerge with a mouthful of plant matter in his mouth. He drops it and charges at the zookeeper, expelling him from his enclosure. If you pause the video at 26 seconds, it is nothing short of terrifying to see this hippo so enraged. His mouth is open so wide that it looks like the zookeeper could fit inside of his mouth. 

It was reported on the video that “the next day, zoo authorities clarified it was a misunderstanding between the hippos, and the keeper emerged unharmed. Investigations are ongoing.” 

How Big is a Hippo Mouth?

A territorial Hippo bull makes a huge gaping yawn as a warning to other males to keep out of his territory. They will also make this threat gesture to humans on the riverbank.

Hippos are herbivores.

©Nick Greaves/Shutterstock.com

As we can see above, hippos are large animals. Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) weigh anywhere between 2,200-9,900 pounds (1-4.5 tons). But it’s not just the size of their bodies that are impressive but their mouths are too!

Their mouths can open up at about four feet (1.2 meters)! This is enough for a small child to fit into! It’s no wonder that this zookeeper was scared for his life.


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About the Author

Hannah Crawford is a writer at A-Z Animals where she focuses on reptiles, mammals, and locations in Africa. Hannah has been researching and writing about animals and various countries for over eight years. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Communication\Performance Studies from Pensacola Christian College, which she earned in 2015. Hannah is a resident in Florida, and enjoys theatre, poetry, and growing her fish tank.

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