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Journalism of Courage
After elephants and rhinos, the hippopotamus is the largest animal on the planet. Despite its benign looks, the semi-aquatic animal is known for being aggressive due to its unpredictable behaviour.
An undated video of a hippo almost climbing out of its enclosure in a zoo is going viral. In the video, a man who appears to be a security guard is seen trying to push the large animal back into the water by slapping it lightly. In response, the hippo opens its mouth as a show of dominance. The guard does not appear deterred and hits it again. After a few seconds, the hippo retreats.
The video, reportedly taken in Delhi zoo, has gathered over four million views on Twitter. While people wondered how a large animal such as a hippo was able to be so close to visitors, many raised questions about the ethics of holding wild animals in captivity.
https://twitter.com/_B___S/status/1594433926587568128
https://twitter.com/IsaiahSenones/status/1594435573435043840
https://twitter.com/mpanhuijsen/status/1594453988560474112
Commenting on the video, a Twitter user wrote, “Hitting an animal is wrong. One should never hit an animal. Animals should not be held captive. Animals should be in sanctuaries for the protection of the animals not for human pleasure.”
Talking about the guard’s actions a Twitter user wrote, “Im confused why he thinks hitting this animal is useful and also how the animal is able to get this close to the visitors with no fencing or barrier.”
Hippos are native to sub-Saharan Africa. They spend up to 16 hours a day inside water and only come up on land to graze grass. As per 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.”
