During the heat of the day, the sighting that no one expected to have was a hippo in the middle of the road! It turns out – the hippo was also extremely grumpy and charged at the safari vehicle with its mouth wide open. He even tried to eat the car!! To escape, the guests…
—Watch—
On one of their many game drives, they were off to a brilliant start! They had just come from an incredible cheetah sighting. To make things extra special, the cheetah had three cubs! So, they continued to see what else their good luck would bring them.
Their experienced guide, Sandiso, continued with the safari, which brought them to a road that went through a riverbed. They carried on and eventually wrapped around a blind corner to find something very unexpected.
Finding a Hippo on Land in The Heat
There was a hippo standing right in the middle of the road, and it was at least 95°F (35°C)! Although hippos feed almost entirely on grass, their skin is very sensitive to the sun, so they eat under the protection of night. Seeing a hippo out during the heat of the day is very unusual!
To make the situation trickier, the hippo was recognized as one of the larger bulls in the area, known to be on the grumpier side. Sandiso could also tell by the hippo’s behavior that it was in no mood for company!
So, while everyone was admiring the strange sighting, Sandiso was thinking ahead and started planning a way out. The hippo kept on approaching, and Sandiso knew that he had to put his exit plan into place.
Massive Charging Hippo
The first course of action was to reverse slowly. But for the hippo, this wasn’t enough, and the bull broke out into a full-blown charge toward the car. All just a couple of seconds after they had started moving!
The chase was on, but Sandiso was once again, one step ahead! As the hippo lunged, Sandiso had to hit the gas. Luckily, the route was already mapped out, but Sandiso had to show a downright impressive amount of composure to follow through!
To make matters more stressful, the vehicle was quickly closing in on a junction! Put simply, they were running out of room to reverse! And the hippo was now right on their bonnet. Sandiso, left with no choice, had to take the corner, and he did it with incredible precision!
While navigating the corner, in reverse… The hippo was still chasing! At this point, its mouth was almost covering the tracker seat. Luckily, the seat wasn’t occupied, but the charging hippo was still way too close for comfort! Amazingly, Sandiso still managed to keep the vehicle swinging out of harm’s way.
