The Hippo is the third largest land animal, after the elephant and rhinoceros, weighing in at about 3 1/2 tons. They can be up to 13 feet long! This one surfaced about 60 or 70 yards from our small boat as we cruised down the Zambezi in the late afternoon. There was a pod of about 7 or 8 of them but our boat kept its distance because Hippos are some of the most aggressive and unpredictable creatures on the planet. They were fun to watch through binoculars but difficult to photograph because we were moving and so were they! On this same boat trip we saw a number of crocodiles, birds and a fabulous sunset.
An excellent shot! One year we were canoeing down the Zambezi - a hippo came out the water and bit a hole out of the canoe!! It toppled over and had to be towed down river until we could find a new one at a riverside farm.
@leananiemand Wow! That must have been scary! Our experience was a bit tamer but still thrilling since this was the first time I'd ever seen a hippo--except for the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland:)
Hip, hip, hippo!! Wonderful capture......even, though I would like to see it wearing a tutu and doing some ballet steps! I do think I have seen them at the San Diego Zoo, and they are pretty graceful under water. I cannot believe @leananiemand survived the attack by the hippo when canoeing....that would have been really scary!
