Dramatic video shows massive hippo charge at boat filled with tourists in African waterway

That’s one hangry hippo.A boat filled with tourists hoping to witness some of the wildlife that makes Africa an unforgettable vacation destination got exactly what they came for — along with a little fright along the way.Viral video footage captures the heart-pounding moment a massive hippo charged after a tour boat in Botswana, racing through the water in hot pursuit of the escaping boat.The tour boat was traveling along the waterway when the group spotted a lone male hippo in the distance, prompting the captain to slow down to avoid disturbing the territorial animal.“After watching his behavior for a moment, he calmly said, ‘Hold on—we need to speed up now before he decides to come after us,’” said Oznur Bell, the tourist who captured the moment on camera.“The moment we accelerated, we looked back and realized the hippo was chasing us.”While the boat driver appeared to laugh off the encounter as just another walk in the park—or, in this case, a ride through Botswana’s shallow waterways—the tourists on board may have been a little more rattled by the massive mammal, and for good reason.According to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, common hippos can grow up to 16.5 feet long and 5.2 feet tall at the shoulder, with adult males weighing between 3,500 and nearly 10,000 pounds, similar to a mid-length SUV.The tourist who filmed the dramatic encounter described it as “one of the most terrifying moments I’ve ever experienced.”While hippos are herbivores that feed primarily on plants and don’t view humans as prey, that doesn’t mean they aren’t deadly.Hippos kill about 500 people across Africa each year, more than twice the number killed by lions, according to researchers at the University of Pretoria.Hippos are extremely territorial and are known to fiercely defend their patches of water—and defend them they do.

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