Rare Video captures hippo charging tourist boat in Botswana

BOTSWANA, Aug 8: A tourist boat carrying visitors in northern Botswana was forced to speed away after a hippopotamus charged toward the vessel in a dramatic encounter captured on video.

Oznur Bell, who recorded the footage, was traveling by boat with her three children and a close friend on Sunday while moving between camps during their stay in Botswana. She told NBC News that the incident was one of the most frightening experiences she had ever encountered.

According to Bell, one of the boat guides spotted the hippo and slowed the vessel to avoid disturbing the animal. The group had just encountered an elephant, and Bell was already holding her phone and filming when the hippo suddenly appeared.

The guide initially tried to keep his distance, but quickly realized the animal had become agitated. Bell recalled him warning the passengers to hold on before accelerating the boat.

As the vessel picked up speed, the passengers looked back and saw the hippo pursuing them through the water. Bell's video shows the large animal emerging from the water and rapidly moving toward the boat as the vessel creates a wake while escaping.

Bell said the guides appeared to smile as the boat moved away, but described the expressions as ones of relief rather than amusement. She said everyone aboard was genuinely concerned for several moments.

After the encounter, the guides told the group that while hippos are highly territorial animals, witnessing one chase a boat was relatively unusual.

Hippos are herbivores and are the third-largest land animals after elephants and white rhinoceroses, with some individuals weighing up to around 8,000 pounds. Despite their massive size, they can move surprisingly quickly both on land and in water.

The African Wildlife Foundation says hippos have adaptations suited to their semi-aquatic environment, including four-webbed toes that help distribute their weight on land and short, powerful legs that provide propulsion in water.

Hippos are also considered among Africa's most dangerous large animals. Although the exact number of human deaths caused by hippo encounters is unknown, estimates suggest that at least 500 people are killed in such incidents each year.

The World Wildlife Fund lists the hippopotamus as a vulnerable species, with human encroachment among its major threats.

Bell said she felt fortunate to have kept her phone in her hand when the hippo appeared, allowing her to document the rare encounter.

“Otherwise this extraordinary encounter would have lived only in our memories,” she said.