Photographer Emily Whiting captured quite a stretch of footage when these two hippos began battling in a South African river!
To the average person, this may appear to be horseplay between two gentle giants. It may even look amorous. But once you realize just how much power exists in the mouths of these creatures, you understand that it’s much more!
Here are a few numbers that will provide a proper perspective. Adult hippos can open their mouths to between 150 and 180 degrees, essentially creating a straight line with their jaws. They can do the splits with their mouths! The bite force of a hippo is approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch—twice that of a lion or tiger and ten times that of an adult human! And, those dagger-like teeth sticking up from their bottom jaws are probably about 1.5 feet in length!
Clearly, with those oral statistics, this is fighting for these big fellas!
With that insight, watch as the bigger two of this foursome go literally head-to-head. The smaller ones crowd in close initially, but as the confrontation continues, they pull back and leave this business to those most equipped. Each of the fighting hippos tries to clasp their jaws over their opponent’s. Neither can quite do it.
We hear the sound of teeth and bone connecting and crashing, but no skin appears to be broken. Though, Hippo hide looks pretty thick!
The closer hippo definitely gains some watery ground, forcing the one facing the camera further into the water. But, the camera-facing fighter is almost able to leverage his giant mouth and get atop the first. The battle raged on for over an hour, giving tourists at the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve quite a show. Emily is also a field guide for safaris.
Indeed, this is not horseplay, but the word “Hippopotamus” does mean “river horse.” An average horse weighs roughly one ton or 2,000 pounds, but these “horses” top out at 4 tons!
Sometimes, we just need to know a little bit more for things to be clear. Occasionally, our perspective is “off.” It’s a great thing to have the ability to seek and find answers that help us to bring our world better into view—for images by Photographer Emily and so very much more!
“So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:21