Lion stranded in river attacked by hippos in amazing rare wildlife moment

If there’s anything we’ve learned from watching nature documentaries over the years it’s that hippos are not to be messed with.

They’re one of the biggest mammals on the planet weighing up to nearly 1,000 pounds, and they can run at speeds of 30mph. More significantly, they’re considered the deadliest land mammal and kill at least 500 humans a year.

Basically, they’re massive terrifying creatures that can do serious damage – as one lion found out to its cost recently.

An incredible video has captured the moment a lion stranded on a rock in the middle of a river was attacked by hippos.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

The footage shows the creature stranded on the rock off the coast being stalked by a lone hippo who makes a slow approach. Before long, there’s a whole herd there.

Stranded Lion Gets Surrounded & Attacked by Hipposwww.youtube.com

The first hippo then lunges for the lion and narrowly avoids delivering a killer blow. The lion makes a run for it and jumps into the water.

Just when you think the animal is safe, another hippo appears out of the water inches from the lion making a getaway.

The video has gone viral after it was posted on YouTube by Steyn Jacobsohn, who is a guide at Kruger National Park in South Africa, racking up more than six million views.

Speaking to wildlife platform Latest Sightings, he said: “Guests always ask us what’s the rarest thing you’ve ever seen, and this is at the top, a very unique sight indeed.”

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.