Video captures hippo saving a gnu from a crocodile

Pack of Hippos Rescue Gnu from a Crocodile Attack

Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve, Kenya – It isn’t every day that the animals of a different species come to the aid of another animal in distress, but on this occasion it happened. An adult gnu or wildebeest was crossing a body of water when a crocodile emerged from the deep and bit into the animal dragging it into deeper water for what would be a certain death.

As the gnu submerged, a hippo began drifting towards the beast. It was followed by another hippo and before long by a pack of hippos. The sheer number of hippos spooked the crocodile which released the wildebeest and fled the scene. If that wasn’t enough, the lead hippo then began pushing the wildebeest to the water’s edge where it was finally able to exit the water and flee, presumably to safety. In fact, the hippo was the reason the crocodile did not return to finish the job try as it might.

It was a rare thrill which was seen by a group of tourists on safari. One of them happened to be a photographer by the name of Vadim Onishchenko. The 34-year-old had his camera with him and ended up capturing two hours’ worth of footage including a video of the daring rescue. As per Onishchenko, some animal’s species do look after weaker ones. He wonders if the female hippo acted upon a maternal instinct to protect the gnu much as it would one of her young. Thankfully for the gnu, hippos exhibit no fear of crocodiles and it may be that the crocs fear the hippos.

Video captures hippo saving a gnu from a crocodile

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Video captures hippo saving a gnu from a crocodile
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2578257/Hip-hip-hooray-Hippos-fight-crocodile-attacking-gnu-escort-animal-safety.html