In a horrific snap, a fully grown hippopotamus picks up a calf in its strong jaws and drops it back into the water. The sʜᴏᴄᴋing image captures the ferocious animal squeezing its jaws shut around the defenseless calf as ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ and water pour everywhere. Before returning the calf to the water, the hippo lifted it between its jaws.
As it is lifted up by its neck, the trapped calf sprays an arc of ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ. Although they seem calm, hippopotamuses are among the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest land animals in nature. If given the chance, hippopotamuses have been known to break bones, pull off limbs, and even swallow people whole.
A male hippopotamus that is fully grown can weigh more than 2.5 tons and strongly protects its territory. With their razor-sharp teeth, they can easily snap a crocodile or a boat in half with their strong jaws.
Paul Templer was sucked up by a hippo in 1996, but he managed to escape. His nearly fatal ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ began when the animal threw one of his buddies out of a canoe near Victoria Falls in his native Zɪᴍʙᴀʙᴡᴇ.
Before spitting him out and charging at him with its mouth open to bring him to the bottom of the river, the animal beat the man around. According to estimates, 500 people are ᴋɪʟʟed by hippo ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋs each year in Africa, more humans are said to perish at the hands of hippos than any other animals.
