A series of photos of the battle for survival between a teenage hippo and a pack of hungry lions was captured by wildlife photographer Andrew Schoeman at Sabi Nature Reserve (South Africa). ).
“I was woken up early in the morning by cries of pain, which I didn’t know at the time was the cry of a hippo,” said Andrew Schoeman. “I followed the sound and saw a young hippo, about three to five years old, in a shallow pool surrounded by three male lions.”
The hippo’s body was covered with many wounds and scratches, so Andrew believes the animal had to go through a fight with the lions before running into a puddle deep enough for the lions to not reach.
“Whenever the hippo wanted to run to shore, the lions would surround it, sending the poor animal back to the puddle. I think the hippo was attacked by the lions before. when I arrived and he had to run into the puddle to hide from the predators,” Schoeman added.
However, the lions did not give up, but hid behind the rocks near the water’s edge to wait for the hippo to emerge. After hiding in the water for a while, the hippopotamus thought the lions had left, so he left the puddle to go ashore. The lions still silently wait until the hippo leaves the puddle about 50m before they start to rush out and continue to attack their prey.
As a professional wildlife photographer, Andrew Schoeman did not miss the moment of the life-or-death battle between hippos and lions. Take a look at a series of photos of the young hippo’s attempt to save itself against predators known as the “lord of the steppe”.
The hippopotamus stood in the puddle to avoid the pursuit of the lions. On the body of the hippo there are many wounds caused by the lions.
When a lion enters the water to approach its prey, it is immediately chased away by the hippopotamus.
The lions lie still waiting for the hippo to come ashore.
Wait until the hippo is far away from the puddle before the lion begins to attack. With the advantage of physical strength and strength, hippos can intimidate a lion when it approaches him.
But when the two lions rushed to attack, the advantage of the hippo’s strength was gone.
The hippo tried to rush back to the puddle to escape.
But when all three lions joined forces to attack, the hippo had no chance to survive.
Despite trying very hard to survive, the young hippo eventually had to become a meal for the “lords of the steppe”