Tourists in Botswana had an encounter with wildlife they’ll never forget, when a massive hippopotamus began chasing their boat through the water. The dramatic incident was captured on video, which went viral.

The tour boat was traveling along a waterway in Botswana when the passengers spotted a lone male hippopotamus in the distance.

The captain initially slowed down so as not to disturb the animal. After observing its behavior for a moment, however, he realized they needed to get away quickly.

A tourist captured the heart-stopping moment her boat escaped a charging hippo in Botswana. pic.twitter.com/qSgohoVQT8

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“Hold on, we need to speed up.”

“After watching its behavior for a while, he calmly told us: ‘Hold on tight, we need to speed up now, before it decides to chase us,’” described Oznur Bel, the tourist who recorded the incident.

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“The moment we sped up, we looked back and realized the hippopotamus was chasing us,” she added.

The video shows the enormous animal moving at high speed through the water, chasing the boat, which eventually managed to get away.

Tourists in Botswana got a terrifying surprise when a hippo appeared to chase their guide boat, with one passenger calling it “one of the most terrifying moments” she’s ever experienced. pic.twitter.com/hBGwJHrQb9

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The boat’s guide seemed to take the unexpected chase in stride, laughing it off, in contrast to the tourists, who were visibly more shaken.

Bell described the incident as “one of the scariest moments I’ve ever experienced.”

Hippos kill about 500 people a year

Common hippos can reach a length of 5 meters and a shoulder height of about 1.6 meters, while adult males weigh between approximately 1,600 and 4,500 kilograms, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

Although they are herbivores and do not view humans as prey, hippos are considered extremely dangerous due to their highly territorial behavior, particularly in the water.

According to researchers at the University of Pretoria, hippos kill approximately 500 people in Africa each year, a number more than double the deaths attributed to lions.

Source: Proto Thema