10 brave wild dogs tried their luck with a hippo family. The pack managed to separate 2 hippos from the rest, and everything was going to plan until an elephant stepped in to help!
Hippos risk facing large predators like lions when they’re on land, but for wild dogs, this was very ambitious!
The wild dog pack found an unusual amount of hippos at a drying waterhole. The hippos on land had nowhere to go, and it was just too tempting not to try! So, the chase began!
The wild dogs made a hunting formation and trotted in, which caused all the hippos to panic. A hippo is nearly 87 times bigger than a wild dog (on average), but it looked like the pack was herding them!
The wild dogs eventually managed to separate one of the hippos from its family, which was exactly what they wanted. They quickly circled the hippo and started nipping at it, trying to target the softer areas.
Hippos have really tough skin, which can be up to 5 cm thick in some parts, making it nearly impossible for wild dogs to do much damage to a healthy adult. But that didn’t stop them from trying!
The hippo eventually found a gap and made a run for it towards its friend, where they faced the wild dog pack together. While this was playing out, a herd of elephants arrived looking for a drink.
Elephants are known to become a bit grumpy when water is scarce, and they have little tolerance for any predators. For one of the elephants, this was a perfect storm, and it came running in.
Nothing wants to get in the way of a charging elephant, and the wild dogs didn’t have to think twice before shooting off and abandoning their hunting plans. Even the poor hippos had to scramble out of the way.
In the end, the wild dogs ran off into the bush, leaving peace at the waterhole once more.
