This is the terrifying moment a hippopotamus flipped a boat, throwing a ranger into the water as his father helplessly looked on from a nearby raft.
The incident occurred in a dam in Lowveld, South Africa, at Kruger National Park.
Members of The Digital Ark, a conservationist group, were attempting to catch the hippo and its calf which had escaped from a farm due to recent flooding.
They were going to shoot the animals with dart guns to they could safely transport them back to their home.
However, chaos ensued when Zander, a conservationist on a boat, was suddenly launched into the water after the enormous hippo flipped the vessel from underneath.
Footage shows the man scrambling to safety on top of the upturned boat as other members of the group look on in horror, before the man’s father instinctively draws his pistol.
Speaking to Swiss newspaper 20 minuten, Zander’s father Andre Pienarar said: ‘More to make myself feel better – this weapon can’t do much against such a dangerous animal.’
The hippo retreated after the incident, and Pienaar said he heard it snorting 40 metres away.
He added: ‘The hippopotamus didn’t like the idea, so we withdrew. We have time. We’ll try again another day.’
The viral video has now served as a warning, with Pienaar writing on Facebook: ‘Hippos are responsible for more human fatalities in Africa than almost any other large animal… and today we’re reminded why.
‘During this darting operation, the hippo charged and flipped our boat, throwing a team member into the water and capsizing the vessel completely.
‘This is not staged. This is real wildlife work.’
Hippos are Africa’s deadliest large mammal, and they cause a shocking 500-3,000 deaths annually.
They are very territorial animals, especially in water, and a direct encounter with one has a fatality rate of 86%.
In March 2024, a large hippo in the Chobe River in Namibia attacked a large tour group on a boat.
Witnesses claim the skipper had approached a few bathing hippos from a ‘safe distance’ when suddenly a large, male hippo charged at the boat.
The skipper jumped into action and tried to facilitate an escape, but the boat was on the ground under shallow water, leaving it at the mercy of the huge marine mammal.
The hippo opened its huge mouth and began to chomp down on the boat’s outboard motor, leaving the plastic surroundings cracked.
One tourist, Jackie Boshoff, who was on the river tour at the time of the incident, said she ‘actually couldn’t believe what was happening in front of me’.
‘We were quiet on the boat, not making a lot of noise, and the engine was off as we approached them from a safe distance,’ Boshoff said.
‘Then suddenly one particular male hippo begun chasing the boat out of nowhere.
‘When our skipper realised there was a potential problem of him hitting the boat, he turned the boat and headed away.
And later that year in May, a 70-year-old tourist was tragically killed by a hippo in Zambia while on a dream holiday with her husband.
Lisa Manders was on an African safari when she was attacked by the beast, suffering ‘catastrophic injuries’ which she then died from.
Last year, a holidaymaker in St Lucia was knocked down by a hippo after she ignored a warning not to approach it.
In video footage, a person behind the camera can be heard shouting, ‘he’s going to charge’ and telling a child ‘this is what you call an idiot’ as the woman moves closer to the animal.
The video then shows the enraged beast charging at the woman before using its head to ram her face-first to the ground as bystanders watch on in horror.
The cameraman shouts, ‘you’re stupid’ as the stunned woman gets to her feet and staggers away, leaning on a man for support.
According to local media, the tourists involved were ordered out of St Lucia, and accommodation establishments advised them not to take future bookings from them.
