Watch: Hippo chases tourist boat, comes dangerously close

It’s unclear when and where the video was taken. However, it was shared online by a popular Twitter page, Hidden Tips (@30sectips) on January 3, after which it gathered over 49,000 views.

Although accurate numbers are hard to come by, lore has it that hippos kill more people each year than lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos combined. Don’t get close! pic.twitter.com/cc7EbQHs4j

— Hidden Tips (@30sectips) January 3, 2023

Commenting on the video, a Twitter user wrote, “I think they’re more dangerous on land because they can outrun people and feel skittish out of the water so they’re even more aggressive if they feel threatened… and they’re invading S America. Pablo Escobar kept them for pets and now they’re loose”. Another person remarked, “Wow he cut that close”.

Despite their reputation as a lazy animal that spends up to 16 hours a day in the water, hippos can be quite athletic. According to AZ Animals, on average, hippos can hit speeds of 48 kilometre per hour on land. However, their speed in water is only eight km per hour.

According to some estimates published in National Geographic, “Every year across Africa, hippos kill an estimated 500 people, making them the world’s deadliest mammal, after humans, and nearly twice as deadly as lions.”