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Hippopotamus......... .......Responsible for an estimated 3,000 deaths per year in Africa
With so many dangerous animals in Africa, many people often overlook the fact that the hippopotamus is actually the biggest killer of humans of all large African animals. Although hippos are herbivores, these highly territorial animals are estimated to kill an incredible 3,000 people each year.
Male hippos fiercely defend their territories – which include the banks of rivers and lakes, while females hippos can get extremely aggressive if they sense anything getting in between them and their babies, who stay in the water while they feed on the shore.
Hippos weigh up to 1,500 kg – the third biggest animal in Africa behind the elephant and rhino – and can run on land at speeds of up to 30 km per hour. Combine this with their aggressive nature, agility in and out of the water, and sharp, half-meter teeth in enormous jaws and you can understand why hippos can make for such a fearsome creature to encounter.
6 am and I am having a coffee while the camp in Kruger is still asleep and then . . . a panicked young hippo came running madly through the area between me and the restaurant about 30 feet away . . .
A door filled with concrete used as a shield against the world's most powerful continuous fusion neutron source, 1979. A special bearing in the hinge allowed one person to open or close the door.
The hippo ran in front of our cabin and I got brave and took one last pic as he went off down the road. Even the park rangers were stunned that a hippo got into the camp.