A lion got himself in a tight spot after getting stranded on a rock in the middle of a river. While attempting to swim across the “crocodile” river in Kruger National Park in South Africa the lion climbed onto the rock only to be surrounded by hippos.
One of the hippos swims up and attacks the lion while he’s lying on the rock, forcing the large cat to jump into the water. The lion frantically swims towards the bank but goes right over top of another hippo under the water!
Thankfully, the lion escapes the hippo’s deadly snapping mouth!
Hippos are very territorial, dangerous animals, especially when they are in their element – the water. A similar attack happened in Botswana when a pride of lions crossed the Selinda spillway.
“They were clearly aware of the hippos around them but obviously felt the need to get to the other side of the river. As soon as they started to cross, they realized they were now in uncharted waters that had already been claimed,” writes LastSightings.com. “But was it too late to turn around?”
One hippo hones in on the four lions to give them a clear message that they are not welcome in the hippos’ home.
“Two lions succeeded in crossing the river, but the other two managed to turn around in time and swim back to the other side. All in all, no lions were severely injured,” says LastSightings.com. “However, half of the pride were yet to decide how to get back over to their pride members on the other side.”
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