Hippo vs. Wild Dog Pack: Photos Show Rare Fight Over Animal Carcass

A bizarre fight between a massive hippo and a pack of wild dogs over a carcass was captured on camera and shared on social media. This was a rare sight as the endangered African wild dogs were seen battling the hippo, which is mainly vegetarian.

A tug-of-war erupted between the animals at the Kruger National Park, South Africa, on 1 April. Business owner Pierries du Toit, who was having a picnic at the park, took several pictures of the rare fight.

According to du Toit, a waterbuck was seen fleeing, from the wild dogs, into a water hole. Moments later a huge hippo emerged and killed the animal. Soon, the wild dogs approached to take the carcass of the waterbuck. Initially, the hippo tried to outrun the canines, the Daily Mail reported.

The photos show the waterbuck's carcass being tossed around by both the contenders trying to get a bite of the animal. The battle ended with the wild dog pack coming out victorious as the hippo retreated to the water leaving the carcass behind.

"The dogs initially chased the waterbuck into the water, but the hippo charged it and grabbed it, so didn't end well for the waterbuck," du Toit reportedly said, adding that the fight lasted for nearly an hour. "We were about 200 meters from the action, I couldn't believe that dogs that small would take on something as big as a hippo."

"I've never heard of this happening before. The hippo was obviously grumpy as it had lots of scars on its body from what must have been some encounter with another animal," du Toit added.

Earlier this month, a video went viral showing a heroic hippo trying to save an impala calf from drowning in water, unfortunately, it was eaten by wild dogs after reaching the shore.

This incident also took place at the Kruger National park when Safari guide Arun Rao, 53, of Legend Safaris caught the unusual scene on camera.