Watch: Hippo steals kudu from wild dogs

This unusual video shows a hippo wading through water with a kudu in its mouth and warning off a pack of wild dogs hungry for some buck. Although the hippo appears to be ‘rescuing’ the kudu at first, there’s no knowing what its intentions were, or whether they were at all benevolent. Despite being almost exclusively herbivorous, a 2015 study published in the journal Mammal Review found that hippos do sometimes feed on animal carcasses, including those of other hippos.

According to LatestSightings.com, the video was supplied by Real Estate Agent Carolyn Wridgway (57), who had this to say about the incident:

‘We were ecstatic to be able to have the good fortune to witness this incredible event that began to play out. My 8-year-old granddaughter, who was watching the events unfold, innocently thought that the hippo was a superhero for trying to rescue a baby kudu and she was very sad when the kudu drowned and the hippo’s tooth went right through it. It was amazing to see the hippo get the kudu to the water’s edge and then try and get it back on its feet while protecting it from the dog invasion, but it was sickening to see the way the hippo and dogs were having a tug of war with the kudu.

‘It saddened us to see this huge animal looking so deflated when it must have realized the kudu was dead and there was nothing more that could be done, the battle was lost. When the sad hippo left, the dogs ripped into the kudu and dragged it behind a bush. When they were done, two dogs stayed near the carcass and kept chasing away the vultures. Eventually, the dogs gave up protecting the carcass and left it for the vultures to feast on, this too was an amazing sighting to have seen. We have never witnessed a kill taking place so this was exceptionally rare for us and even more so given the nature of the kill.’