Hippopotamus Aggression

Hippopotamus Fight

Hippo aggression isn’t a myth but a fact. These are categorized as one of the most aggressive animal in the world. Even other dangerous animals including crocodiles and alligators won’t mess with them. Hippos are known to be very aggressive towards both of these types of animals. The three of them often share the same bodies of water. However, the Hippo makes it known that they aren’t going to share that location without a fight.

What is interesting is that Hippos aren’t aggressive when it comes to land territory. They all freely roam around in search of food. That can change though if they aren’t able to find enough food to survive on. When there is a lack of water or a lack of food then the aggressive nature of the Hippo will be very high. Then only the strongest and the most powerful will survive.

When a Hippo has a young one to care for, they will become increasingly aggressive. In many areas there are avid hunters including hyenas and lions. They find a young Hippo to be a very tasty meal. Yet they will only go for it if they see that the young has wondered a considerable distance from their mother. They won’t take the risk of her wrath on them if she gets too close.

Among the males in a herd, there is one that is deemed as being dominant.  He is the only one allowed to mate with the females. These females will go through cycles where they go into estrus. This typically will last for about three days. During this period of time the dominate male is going to be aggressively pursuing her.

At the same time, he may find that some of the bachelor males are going to be challenging him. They know that they won’t have the ability to mate in that herd unless they can beat him. Usually though the younger males will back down after they see they can’t successfully fight the strong leader.

It is often at that time that these bachelors will move along to create their own herd. Sometimes other males will go with each other for a period of time. Hippo aggression can be extremely high though when these young males are looking for some territory to make their own. With so much of their natural habitat being taken away  by humans, they find that it is a constant struggle to find enough space for all of them to live without conflict.

In Africa, the Hippo has been known to attack boats with people on them as well as people that are in the water. This is because they view humans as a threat to their environment. This protective nature that they have – especially the females with offspring – has given then a bad reputation. However, you have to keep in mind that these animals are only doing what they are instinctively programmed to.

Many experts believe that a great deal of the ability for the Hippo to live for millions of years has been their aggressive nature. They have very few natural predators out there to be worried about. The larger that a Hippo becomes the lower that risk is for them. Even the newborns can be as much as 100 pounds though so they aren’t going to be easily taken down without a fight.

With the title of being the most aggressive animal in the world, there isn’t much love lost with this among for most people. Those that live around the zoo find the peaceful enclosures for these animals to give off a different impression. Those that live in the villages of Africa though know first hand just how vicious they really can be.