Hippos Teach Bull Shark They Don’t Mess Around
In the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZuluNatal, South Africa, a tour guide captured a bull shark learning a valuable lesson: do not test the patience of a group of hippos. Several hippos were close together in an estuary in the park, when the bull shark got a little too close for comfort to an alpha hippo.
The video captured the shark’s fin moving around the group of hippos, mildly agitating the animals until the bull shark went in a little closer. This was not a great move on the bull shark’s end because one hippo reacted quickly by charging at the shark. The bull shark was able to escape quickly, learning that a group of hippos is not the best target.
Tour guide Stacey Farrell reasoned that fish are attracted to the waste of hippos, which could have been the shark’s motivation for approaching the large animals, reports 9News. Bull sharks are also found in estuaries because the females have their babies in these areas. Hippos are considered dangerous animals; while the bull shark’s motives are not completely known, he definitely went after the wrong group of mammals. He might reconsider making the same decision twice. Hippos one, bull shark zero.