Land Rover Bitten by Hippo Under Attack From 8 Lionesses

Kruger National Park is among Africa’s largest game reserves. It is a popular safari destination among wildlife enthusiasts and seekers of the Big Five: Lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo. The park is spread over two million hectares, making it larger than Israel.Close to 150 mammalian species call Kruger National Park home, which they cohabit with over 100 reptile species, including 51 kinds of snakes, 49 fish species and over 500 species of birds, according to the official .With so much faunal diversity contained within its boundaries, there’s never an uneventful safari in Kruger. Yet, even the most seasoned tourists don’t know what to expect from each drive, as animals continue to exhibit new, sometimes strange, behaviours.Dean Grant has been on countless safaris in his years growing up, but he never would have bet on a pride of eight lionesses to attack a hippo, much less for a to be bitten by one.The incident occurred during an early-morning drive, shortly after Grant’s family entered Kruger from Mjejane, heading west along the river. While they did expect to see big cats in action, lions, old and young, going after a lone hippo wasn’t on their radar.“Our initial excitement turned to sorrow as we watched the poor old hippo struggle against the pride. But, I also felt respect for the lions’ relentless determination to feed their pride. This was nature’s cycle in action,” Grant told .The hippo did not make it easy for the lionesses, doing everything in its power to get as close to the river as possible. While lions can swim, they are no match for the barrel-shaped semiaquatic mammals’ speed in water.As the megafelines took turns chasing the hippo, there came a point when the action was happening in the middle of the road. While a sedan was spared, the SUV in question suffered a bizarre attack from the pachyderm, before backing away.

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“We felt privileged to have witnessed such a rare and powerful moment,” Grand said of the sighting. His family returned for an afternoon safari, only to find the lionesses and their young had long devoured their special feast.Despite hunting as a group, lions rarely take on hippos, due to their size, strength and aggressive behaviour.