Horrific Moment A Two Day Old Hippo Is Mauled To Death After Its Mother Introduced It To The Herd For The First Time
Adopted from Daily Mail
A two day old hippo calf has been mauled to death after its mother introduced it to the pod and the other hippos turned upon the infant. The baby was being introduced to the rest of the pod when it was suddenly set upon and torn to pieces in the water in the Hwange National Park, situated in Zimbabwe.
Final moments; The calf and its mother wait nervously on the side of the bank before introducing the calf to the rest of the pod
The remains of the calf were later seized upon by an opportunist crocodile, who quickly ate the animal’s tattered corpse following the devastating water attack.
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The graphic photographs of the brutal scene were captioned by James Wilson, who spotted the attack in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, where Cecil the Lion was controversially killed.
Disaster; The final moments before the calf is seized upon by the hippos and is killed in a brutal act of infanticide
It is believed that hippos sometimes commit infanticide when they are overpopulated or struggling with a form of sickness .
FIghting; A pod of hippos normally contains between 10 to 15 large hippos and have been known to kick out other hippos from the herd in an act of male dominance
The reasons for hippos to commit infanticide remain relatively unknown due to the difficulty of studying the aggressive creatures. Hippos tend to attack humans who stray too near their water pool, fearful that their calfs maybe at risk from humans.
The brutal beasts lunged for the helpless calf, tossing him into the air without showing any remorse, leaving the water red with blood
A pod of hippos normally contains between 10 to 15 large hippos and have been known to kick out other hippos from the herd in an act of male dominance.
No escape; The hippo calf has no chance as several of the fully grown hippos pounce on the baby in the water
They are well known for their aggressive behaviour and have been known to kill humans if they sense danger. Hippos spend most of their time in water in order to prevent their skin from cracking in the heat.
Carnage; The water turned red as the gruesome scene begun to unfold, It is unclear what caused the adults to turn on the calf
A hippopotamus, meaning ‘river horse’, can weigh as much as 3,200 kg and are not considered as an endangered species.
Tossed in the air like a small ragdoll, the adults show no mercy as they kill the small hippo calf in the murky waters
Supper; A hungry crocodile quickly seized upon the remains of the young hippo before devouring it in the water
Snapper; Photographer James Wilson managed to capture the shocking images whilst enjoying a weekend trip to Hwange National Park
