Visitors to the Toronto Zoo in Canada got to see a pair of hippos enjoy a pumpkin snack, and not just a piece. The hungry hippos are handed whole pumpkins which they chomp down on enthusiastically.
In the now viral video, a child off camera prompts the hippos to open their mouths. The zoo staff come over and drop the large pumpkins into the hippos’ mouths before quickly withdrawing their arms…and there’s a reason for that!
One viewer of the video commented, “The way their eyes twitch from the amount of force they need to put out to crush the pumpkins… They’re so adorable when you’re not the pumpkin.”
Another viewer noted the ears of the hippos. “Don’t let those cute wiggly little ears fool you,” they wrote. Another noted, “Their ears are so adorable and then you realize what they’re capable of.”
One person was impressed. “Their bite strength is amazing to see,” they wrote. “They don’t chew at first just ramp up the pressure till it’s crushed. Like hydraulics. That’s what 1820 psi looks like in real life. So cool.”
Another concluded, “And that’s why you avoid encounters with hippos at all costs.”
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