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One of the most dangerous and fierce animals in the animal kingdom is actually the hippopotamus. Their size, strength and aggressiveness makes them a formidable opponent against most animals. Let see how they would stack up in a fight against other apex predators from the animal kingdom.
Hippos Attributes
Hippos are dangerous creatures and are the animals responsible for more human deaths than other animals, even crocodiles. The common hippo has really thick skin, several inches thick in places and as tough as rubber, so it’s hard to pierce their hides. They also have an impressive bite force with really large teeth. The canines of a hippo are self-sharpening and are over a foot long each, and the pressure at each one of their canines is about 450 pounds per square inch.
Hippos can defend themselves in a variety of ways. Surprisingly for their size, they’re speedy runners, hitting top speeds of around 30 miles per hour, so they can flee from threats. That said they don’t often run from a fight as they can take on most predators. They use their teeth to pierce the body of other animals and use their massive size to their advantage. These highly aggressive animals are unpredictable and can attack with little provocation.
Hippo vs Tiger
Tigers use their stripes as camouflage and typically approach their prey from behind. When in a fight, they use their large paws tipped with claws and their teeth, particularly canines, to take down the threat. Their powerful forelimbs allow them to hold many animals in place, while they tear into them with their teeth.
Who would win in a fight with between a hippo and a tiger? Usually the hippo. The hippo has all of the physical advantages over a tiger, as tigers usually hunt alone and may weigh 500 pounds, as compared to the hippo weighing 4,000 pounds. The tiger might be able to scratch the hippo up some, but it’s not likely to manage to do much damage.
Winner: Hippo
Hippo vs Lion
Similar to tigers, lions use their teeth and claws to take down prey. The biggest distinction is that lions often hunt in a pack, while tigers are solitary predators. Typically female lionesses do the majority of the hunting, while the male lion or lions stays back and protects the pride.
You might be wondering who would win in a fight between a hippo and a lion? In most cases, the hippo still wins. The exception may be if a pride of lions attacks a single hippo. Even then, the hippo is significantly larger, capable of moving swiftly on land or in water, and has large teeth to defend itself. If the lions attack in the water, they might also encounter Nile crocodiles, which are quite capable of taking down a lion.
Winner: Hippo
Hippo vs Crocodile
Crocodiles feature a mouth full of sharp teeth. They also feature one of the strongest bite forces of any animal, approximately 5,000 pounds of bite force which is evenly distributed across all of the crocodiles teeth. Their teeth have evolved to grab onto prey and hold it, and they may thrash around with their prey to drown it. Crocodiles are also fast on land or in water, so most animals have trouble outrunning them.
If you see a picture from Africa of crocodiles and hippos in the water together, you’ve probably wondered who would win in a fight. Hippos are quite capable of defending themselves against crocodiles. Even though the crocs have sharp teeth and a stronger bite force, it’s difficult for them to pierce the hippo’s tough hide. In contrast, the lower canines of the hippo can bite right through a crocodile. As such, crocodiles and hippos often co-exist peacefully and leave each other alone. There have even been pictures of baby hippos chewing on crocodiles while momma hippo keeps an eye out: the crocodile knows it’s not likely to win that fight.
Winner: Hippo
Hippo vs Grizzly Bear
Grizzly bears defend themselves with their impressive size, compared to other bears. They can also puff up their hair to look even larger and are quite capable of running, swimming, and climbing trees to take care of threats. They have large paws with claws, as well as large teeth.
Is all of that enough to let a grizzly bear win in a fight with a hippo? Not a chance. If they were to get in a fight, the hippo wins, hands down. Hippos are significantly larger than grizzly bears and are speedy themselves, so they quite able to attack. The hippo is protected with its tough skin from the bear’s teeth and claws, allowing it to use its large size, around ten times that of a grizzly bear, to defeat the bear.
Winner: Hippo
Hippo vs Elephant
Elephants use their large body size and tusks to take care of threats. While they don’t generally bite to defend themselves, they can stomp a predator. That’s how they often fight: running into an enemy and knocking them over with their body size before stomping them into submission. Even though these animals are herbivores, they won’t shy away from a fight, especially to protect their young.
So, in the tough wilds of Africa, who would win in a fight between an elephant and a hippo? You might be surprised, but the elephant is likely to win. They are much larger than a hippo and can knock the hippo over and stomp it. This has even been recorded, especially when a baby elephant gets too close to a threatening hippo. The elephants may also attack en masse to protect their own, often encountering a single enraged hippo.
Winner: Elephant
