What Animals Could Kill a Hippo? Discover 4 Common Predators + Other Threats

Hippos are some of the largest land animals in the world.  While hippos are herbivores, the massive mammals are large, powerful, and deadly to many other creatures. In fact, hippos kill roughly 500 humans each year. The territorial creatures can bite, trample, and drown most creatures in their range. So, what animals could kill a hippo?

In this case, we’re going to need some imagination. This article is going to explore some of the creatures that could kill a healthy and mature hippo. While some of these fights could happen in the wild, some of them cannot. Also, we’re only considering animals that could go one-on-one with the hippopotamus. With that in mind, see the animals that even hippos need to worry about. 

1. Elephant

Elephants are one of the few animals that would stand a chance in a fight against a hippo. They have a great size and height advantage against them. The average elephant can weigh between 6,000 and 12,000 pounds, and they can stand from 7 to 12 feet tall. Meanwhile, hippos max out under 10,000 pounds.

The elephant would win this fight using a combination of charging, stomping, and goring. The battle would be ugly and painful, but there’s little the hippo could do in the face of such an unstoppable force. Although the animals share a range, hippos know not to mess with anything so large. So, while this fight could happen, it is a rarity. 

2. Rhino

A rhino is another one of the animals that could kill a hippo. However, this fight would not be as cut and dry as the elephant versus hippo fight. Assuming the fight happens on land, a rhino would have a good chance of beating a hippo. After all, some species of rhino have a horn that measures between 20 and 50 inches long! If that managed to puncture the underside or side of a hippo’s body, the creature would find itself in a dire situation.

Of course, hippos are rather thickly built. So, the rhino may have some trouble landing a fatal blow. However, it has a great chance to do serious damage that would affect the hippo’s ability to fight back. All in all, the rhino has an advantage in strength, size, and weight. These factors have a significant impact on fights in the wild. So, with all this in mind, it seems that a rhino, especially a white rhino, could kill a hippo.

3. Great White Shark

Here we go stretching the boundaries of imagination for the sake of finding a solid contender for the hippo. Hippos mostly live in and near freshwater sources. However, from time to time, they do go to the sea. News stories show the animals off the coasts of Mozambique and Gabon.

They’re not alone when they enter the water, though. Great white sharks occupy those same regions, sometimes coming within a few dozen feet of the beach. So, a great white shark could encounter a hippo.

The great white shark would ambush the hippo, tearing large chunks out of the mammal and avoiding its counterattacks with its speed and agility in the water. Of course, if the hippo manages to bite the shark, it could do some serious damage or even turn the tables. Still, we have to give the shark an edge in this fight. It’s at home in the water and will land the first blow.

4. Orca

Another fun stretch of the imagination would pit an orca against a hippo in a battle of the titan weights. Although orcas are seen in deep waters, they’ll sometimes come near shore while hunting. During their excursions near the coast, they could run into a hippo that strayed too far from the beach. Again, this is a stretch of the imagination.

If an orca was embracing the killer whale moniker, it could easily overpower and kill a hippo. These creatures are massive. They can grow up to 27 feet long and weigh over 13,000 pounds. They have a strong bite, a tail smash that sends seals flying, and a level of intelligence that should worry any of their prey. Oh, by the way, some of them like to kill great white sharks.  So, an orca could probably kill a hippo that strayed too far off the coast.

Now that we’ve shown off the few animals that could kill a hippo, let’s consider some other threats to them. Humans are the chief threat to hippos these days. The animals are hunted for their teeth, meat, and skulls. Also, since they’re considered a threat to human life, they are sometimes killed out of fear. Humans are pushing hippos closer and closer to needing protection from the Endangered Species Act. 

Overall, hippos are very dangerous and powerful animals. Only a few creatures pose a threat to them as adults. The greatest threat to them seems to be humans, and that is unlikely to change.

Summary of the Animals That Could Kill a Hippo

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