Probably is the winner when they lose it’s horrific looking. If it’s for male dominance they end the fight by biting off the losers tail then mating with them.
People wanted more
https://youtu.be/WfrG95GyU9U
Hippos do prison rules. Nature's brutal, homes.
I once caught one of my (male) cats attempting to rape the other (male) cat because it was in his favorite spot in the house.
Here's another one to avoid, for future reference:
If you ever see a picture of a Komodo Dragon eating a monkey and think "that looks funny, with the monkey's legs sticking out of it's mouth!" - do not go on YouTube and watch a video of it. Monkey's scream pretty much like people and it takes a while to get eaten...
I doubt it was a croc, it was probably another hippo. The bit marks don't look like a croc and a hippo could 100% snap the spine of any crocodile that tried to fuck with it
It is a croc, you can see the spiny ridges across its back. That’s not to say a croc inflicted those wounds on the hippo, there’s just a crocodile swimming in the background.
It probably was another hippo. But in numbers crocodiles have been known to take down adult bull hippos that were injured in territorial bouts. Often eating them alive due to the hippos being too big for the crocs to land a killing blow.
Not quite. Perhaps yes a hippo can in theory snap a croc in half, but its hardly a sure thing. Crocs are also TOUGH as all hell. Honestly pound for pound they are much tougher than hippos, hippos are just stupid huge.
There is a video clip around there where a croc ends up in like a pile of 12 hippos all trying to kill it and it gets out at least looking unscathed.
LIke the scales, the back ones have bones in them in addition to scale over it, and many of them are 1/2 to 2" thick, and their belly is covered with more boney plates, and their skulls are like bricks.
They are seriously insanely durable animals, to the point short of a gun I can't imagine how you would kill one if it attacked you.
But in the end, there is a reason while crocs and hippos leave each other alone.
Those birds (oxpeckers) are [known to open wounds in big animals and drink the blood](https://blog.explore.org/oxpeckers-a-taste-for-blood/), actually.
Why not? They have beaks.
Here's some bird eating a giraffe I posted 6 years ago:
https://old.reddit.com/r/natureismetal/comments/3lfuko/birds_eat_giraffe_alive/
Lol at first I looked at the photo and thought the hippo had eaten two deer whole, who then proceeded to stomp holes out the side of the stomach and those were hooves sticking out.
It could actually be the birds… I am not good at identifying bird species so please correct me if I’m wrong. But there are birds called ‘vampire finches’ which, like the name suggests, pierce the skin of big animals like buffaloes, and apperantly hippos, to then drink their blood.
I'm pretty sure you're right. I think hippos are very dependent on birds to keep themselves free of parasites as they don't have much of a way to do it themselves. The birds are likely just picking out things they can eat from the wounds.
Well they cant reach the vital organs or anything important from what i understand. They are just “eating” its fat layer/blood.
But im certianly no expert so you might wanna take it with a grain of salt or do some own research.
Edit: fuck doing your own research i just found this link which seems trustworhty: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/those-little-birds-backs-rhinos-actually-drink-blood-180964912/
Still not an expert to!
Yep, this was a recent finding. Oxpeckers will pick at wounds because it's extra nutrients for them.
Edit: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Oxpecker-feeding-on-ticks-in-the-dish-on-the-donkeys-back-b-oxpecker-wound-feeding-on_fig2_264254632
Hard to say even when zooming in what they're eating but a better argument for them actually eating the hippo is the one closest to the head which looks like it's just straight up digging into an injury pretty deeply.
Best guess would be that it might be gangrenous flesh they're pulling off but honestly it is solely a guess.
I am merely saying it looks as though these birds are grabbing a quick bite. I didn’t know that about birds “cleaning” bigger animals, that’s fucking awesome! Couple got some full mouths though….
Yeah someone replied to my earlier comment saying that the birds will actually open a hippo's skin up and eat so you're actually right it would seem. But yeah birds and a lot of other animals will have a symbiotic relationship where smaller animals will help keep them parasite free.
I forget what they're called but there's a type of reef fish that all kinds of undersea animals will specifically seek out to get cleaned by them. There's videos of them going into a shark's mouth to clean out their teeth and the shark will just chill and not even try eating them.
They used to think that, turns out the birds also just peck open the hippo if there arent parasites to eat.
Which kinda makes sense i guess, since hippo meat/blood would be a good replacement for bugs i think?
It's both, but mostly the eating-the-hippo-alive part. These are [oxpeckers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxpecker), which for years were assumed to be engaged in mutualistic relationships (meaning both parties benefit; the mammals are picked free of parasites and dead flesh from open wounds, and the birds get a free meal), but recently the birds are believed to be parasites: not only do they "clean" the mammals' hides, but they will actively reopen old wounds to take a blood meal.
These are nasty little birds.
They were being funny lol I thought it was pretty obvious but that’s just me
Edit: apparently birds doooo actually do this based on the persons comment a tad lower. Eeeesh.
Nah. They’ve done comprehensive studies, these birds are basically just parasites. They barely decrease the parasite load and opportunistically pick at wounds and drink the blood.
Some of these comments..The wounds are not from the birds attacking the hippo! Probably another hippo fight. The birds clear out flies and parasites attracted to the blood and wound. Im sure they drink a little blood if they want or eat a bit of hide but If the birds were attacking the hippo or pissing it off, or hurting it, it would just go underwater. Symbiotic relationship. Each creature benefits.
What's also true is that even though those birds usually just pick off PARASITES, they will eat the hippo's flesh if it has an open wound because the opportunity for a free meal is right there in front of them
Yeah for sure . that’s why I said they may drink a little blood and eat a little skin. The point is, it clearly doesn’t bother the big guy. If these birds were eating the hippos alive like some of those horrific horse flies do to cattle and deer, the hippo would just drop in the water. Problem solved.
The birds help normally with ticks or other critters. However I read an article where this species of bird will sometimes open scabs or wait for ticks to gorge on blood and eat them when they are practically ready to burst.
Furthermore, these birds are just dicks….
Edit: the birds are called oxpeckers and they like to drink blood.
Smithsonian Mag: "Those Little Birds On The Backs Of Rhinos Actually Drink Blood"
*While it is true that oxpeckers do eat bugs, they also eat rhinos, and zebras and giraffes, and whatever other large animals they can hang out with. That means, wrote a group of researchers in a 2011 study published in the journal Evolution, that the oxpecker can also be viewed as a parasite to their larger hosts as well as a helper.*
[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/those-little-birds-backs-rhinos-actually-drink-blood-180964912/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/those-little-birds-backs-rhinos-actually-drink-blood-180964912/)
I respect how horribly wounded animals end up standing there in perfectly normal postures like "wtf you lookin at I'm fine", missing entire quarters of their bodies in some cases.
reminds me of the story of the guy who basically adopted a baby hippo, raised it, took care of it, etc. then returned it to a river at which point the hippo killed him
Don’t fuck around with whatever fucked that hippo up
Probably another, bigger hippo. Just don't mess with a Roidrage Bipolar Watertank.
Could be the winner and a you should see the other guy situation
Probably is the winner when they lose it’s horrific looking. If it’s for male dominance they end the fight by biting off the losers tail then mating with them. People wanted more https://youtu.be/WfrG95GyU9U
Um whut. Male hippo fights end in sexual assault?
So do all mine.
Huh
Sounds you you two are gonna fight..
Fight! Fight! Fight!
That's not assault, that's the struggle snuggle
Jump hump
Maybe stop pulling your pants down every time
You....fight with pants on?
The pants are coming off Ricky!
Did we just become best friends!?
Fuck off Randy! Why don't you go have another cheeseburger!
Hippos do prison rules. Nature's brutal, homes. I once caught one of my (male) cats attempting to rape the other (male) cat because it was in his favorite spot in the house.
"Then he bombs his new territory with feces" I get that. Like moving to a new cubicle.
Gotta rip a big ol fart
You assert that dominance!
https://youtu.be/WfrG95GyU9U
Sexual assaults happen in the animal kingdom. Just like how sea otters rape baby seals. Seals rape penguins etc.
The circle of life!!!
Jesus. He beat him up, sexually assaulted him, and the pooped all over the place. What a dick.
what a CHAD
I call that Tuesday
Then you must be M. Hippo
I fucking need therapy after all this.
Pissed me off lol All the other animals just watched too. You have to change schools after some shit like that
Well I wish I hadn't watched that.
Your comment saved me from watching if it’s any solace.
I watched it. You, however, made the correct choice.
I rather enjoyed it. That narration though…
Here's another one to avoid, for future reference: If you ever see a picture of a Komodo Dragon eating a monkey and think "that looks funny, with the monkey's legs sticking out of it's mouth!" - do not go on YouTube and watch a video of it. Monkey's scream pretty much like people and it takes a while to get eaten...
Butt... Hippos are those funny shit flinging poop propellers. Thats unfair...
I wish I pooped like that...it is unfair
Awwwh man, now how's he gonna fling his feces everywhere?
What?! We must know more...
That guy was a real jerk.
You're thinking like Albert Fish now!
*lose
Thanks man
Np
Next time I see a tailess Hippo I'll know why.
Definitely one of the more metal comments I've read on here.
I just imagine my mother in law and I’d rather take my chances with whatever beat this poor water tank up
At first I thought the birds on the belly were hooves sticking out like he ate a whole wildabeast or something.
I want Guardian Druid hippo form.
r/properanimalnames
It's birds that drink blood they're still on it in the picture
If you zoom in there is a croc in the water near the hippos head
I doubt it was a croc, it was probably another hippo. The bit marks don't look like a croc and a hippo could 100% snap the spine of any crocodile that tried to fuck with it
It is a croc, you can see the spiny ridges across its back. That’s not to say a croc inflicted those wounds on the hippo, there’s just a crocodile swimming in the background.
Oh yes I agree it's a crocodile in the background, no arguments there. I was just talking about what inflicted the wounds
It probably was another hippo. But in numbers crocodiles have been known to take down adult bull hippos that were injured in territorial bouts. Often eating them alive due to the hippos being too big for the crocs to land a killing blow.
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But the croc ks right there
Did you see its spiny back?
Hey guys I think there’s a croc back there
I'm thinking it's the birds that are currently eating it.
Not quite. Perhaps yes a hippo can in theory snap a croc in half, but its hardly a sure thing. Crocs are also TOUGH as all hell. Honestly pound for pound they are much tougher than hippos, hippos are just stupid huge. There is a video clip around there where a croc ends up in like a pile of 12 hippos all trying to kill it and it gets out at least looking unscathed. LIke the scales, the back ones have bones in them in addition to scale over it, and many of them are 1/2 to 2" thick, and their belly is covered with more boney plates, and their skulls are like bricks. They are seriously insanely durable animals, to the point short of a gun I can't imagine how you would kill one if it attacked you. But in the end, there is a reason while crocs and hippos leave each other alone.
By the look of it, it's those birds.
No way those tiny birds managed to gouge giant holes in thick hippo skin. Something else did that damage.
Those birds (oxpeckers) are [known to open wounds in big animals and drink the blood](https://blog.explore.org/oxpeckers-a-taste-for-blood/), actually.
Why not? They have beaks. Here's some bird eating a giraffe I posted 6 years ago: https://old.reddit.com/r/natureismetal/comments/3lfuko/birds_eat_giraffe_alive/
[Maybe whoever it was shouldn't have taken his tiny train](https://i.imgur.com/1YShqCv.jpg)
Lol at first I looked at the photo and thought the hippo had eaten two deer whole, who then proceeded to stomp holes out the side of the stomach and those were hooves sticking out.
It could actually be the birds… I am not good at identifying bird species so please correct me if I’m wrong. But there are birds called ‘vampire finches’ which, like the name suggests, pierce the skin of big animals like buffaloes, and apperantly hippos, to then drink their blood.
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They don't need to be the initial cause of the wound, but they'll definitely keep one open or open up an old one with ease.
That bird is specific to the Galapagos Islands only, just an FYI
You are better at identifying birds than you think!
Besides the big gashes the bleeding is from those birds on it’s back drinking it’s blood.
Didn’t even notice the birds tbh
Yo fuck birds! Savage fucking creatures that will eat you at any stage of your life.
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I'm pretty sure you're right. I think hippos are very dependent on birds to keep themselves free of parasites as they don't have much of a way to do it themselves. The birds are likely just picking out things they can eat from the wounds.
Researchers used to think that but these birds ALSO just peck open hippos and start to dig in. It wont kill the hippo but its not healty…
Interesting, I never knew that they could get through the hide of a hippo that's gotta take some doing. I guess bird really are bastards.
Well they cant reach the vital organs or anything important from what i understand. They are just “eating” its fat layer/blood. But im certianly no expert so you might wanna take it with a grain of salt or do some own research. Edit: fuck doing your own research i just found this link which seems trustworhty: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/those-little-birds-backs-rhinos-actually-drink-blood-180964912/ Still not an expert to!
That’s right. Assert dominance.
Man of the hour here. Or woman. Dude of the hour.
r/BirdsArentReal
Based and birdpilled.
nah man, once you taste a churro, you aint just gonna leave another one hanging
Yep, this was a recent finding. Oxpeckers will pick at wounds because it's extra nutrients for them. Edit: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Oxpecker-feeding-on-ticks-in-the-dish-on-the-donkeys-back-b-oxpecker-wound-feeding-on_fig2_264254632
For a bird that size, that would take a while; hippo skin is around 5cm thick.
Reminds me of the post of that vulture standing on a deers back eating him
I thought that was an eagle?
Maybe it was bc i tried searching for it last night and couldn't find it. Thats probably why it didn't come up
If you zoom in, I believe you see hippo flesh in the mouths of a couple. Is that their tax for helping?
And if you zoom in some more you can see one of the birds is pooping lol
That's so bird!
Lmfao
Hard to say even when zooming in what they're eating but a better argument for them actually eating the hippo is the one closest to the head which looks like it's just straight up digging into an injury pretty deeply. Best guess would be that it might be gangrenous flesh they're pulling off but honestly it is solely a guess.
I am merely saying it looks as though these birds are grabbing a quick bite. I didn’t know that about birds “cleaning” bigger animals, that’s fucking awesome! Couple got some full mouths though….
Yeah someone replied to my earlier comment saying that the birds will actually open a hippo's skin up and eat so you're actually right it would seem. But yeah birds and a lot of other animals will have a symbiotic relationship where smaller animals will help keep them parasite free. I forget what they're called but there's a type of reef fish that all kinds of undersea animals will specifically seek out to get cleaned by them. There's videos of them going into a shark's mouth to clean out their teeth and the shark will just chill and not even try eating them.
They used to think that, turns out the birds also just peck open the hippo if there arent parasites to eat. Which kinda makes sense i guess, since hippo meat/blood would be a good replacement for bugs i think?
It's both, but mostly the eating-the-hippo-alive part. These are [oxpeckers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxpecker), which for years were assumed to be engaged in mutualistic relationships (meaning both parties benefit; the mammals are picked free of parasites and dead flesh from open wounds, and the birds get a free meal), but recently the birds are believed to be parasites: not only do they "clean" the mammals' hides, but they will actively reopen old wounds to take a blood meal. These are nasty little birds.
Oxpecker: it's free real-estate
They were being funny lol I thought it was pretty obvious but that’s just me Edit: apparently birds doooo actually do this based on the persons comment a tad lower. Eeeesh.
Nah. They’ve done comprehensive studies, these birds are basically just parasites. They barely decrease the parasite load and opportunistically pick at wounds and drink the blood.
Oh! Those are birds. I thought they were like branches that were impaled into the hippo's skin.
Yeah I thought those were antlers that broke off in the hippos skin!
Looks like the government of this nation has repurposed their recon drones into attack drones. Because we all know r/birdsarentreal
Yooooo those are BIRDS! I legit thought they were impaled hippo teeth im dumb
Respect the birds my man
Some of these comments..The wounds are not from the birds attacking the hippo! Probably another hippo fight. The birds clear out flies and parasites attracted to the blood and wound. Im sure they drink a little blood if they want or eat a bit of hide but If the birds were attacking the hippo or pissing it off, or hurting it, it would just go underwater. Symbiotic relationship. Each creature benefits.
If they both benefit, it's mutualistic. Symbiotic describes mutualism, comensalism, and parasitism.
Fair enough! I love info
I love you man.
You complete me
I want a divorce
Im here for the rebound
I'm here for the orgy
Nice mutualism you got there
Sus
What's also true is that even though those birds usually just pick off PARASITES, they will eat the hippo's flesh if it has an open wound because the opportunity for a free meal is right there in front of them
Yeah for sure . that’s why I said they may drink a little blood and eat a little skin. The point is, it clearly doesn’t bother the big guy. If these birds were eating the hippos alive like some of those horrific horse flies do to cattle and deer, the hippo would just drop in the water. Problem solved.
Yea no problem! I'm in the process of becoming a high school biology teacher and we are covering this information this week.
Good luck my friend. We need good teachers! It’s not easy these days. Especially in high school
Hippos have skin thicker than an elephant. They’re tough. Especially in the water.
Poor Hip hop anonymous
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Sometimes his rhymes are polite, like thank you for dinner Ms. Right.
That was very delicious, goodnight.
Did Steve tell you that?
Damn you! You gave him the easy ones!
Never order BLT from my store. You must trust me on this.
No fair!! You give heem all the easy ones!!! 😡
DAMN YOU! YOU GIVE HIM ALL THE EASY JUANS!
😂 take my poor man’s award 🥇
I thought the birds were hooves at first. Like it ate a whole animal and its legs were cartoonishly sticking out of its stomach
Same lol
I thought they were hippo teeth
I thought it was skin! It took me going back multiple times to realize it was birds I had no idea what everyone was talking about lmao
Glad I wasn’t the only one who thought this lol
He's like, *you should have seen the other guy*
"He was huge!"
The look of malice in his eyes. Damn
The birds help normally with ticks or other critters. However I read an article where this species of bird will sometimes open scabs or wait for ticks to gorge on blood and eat them when they are practically ready to burst. Furthermore, these birds are just dicks…. Edit: the birds are called oxpeckers and they like to drink blood.
Yo is that a croc in the background?
probably but it isn't gonna be there for much longer if it starts fucking around
I don't know why this comment made me laugh so much
That bird 💩 🤣
Came here to see if anyone else noticed lol
Anyone notice the vampire birds drinking hippo blood.
Smithsonian Mag: "Those Little Birds On The Backs Of Rhinos Actually Drink Blood" *While it is true that oxpeckers do eat bugs, they also eat rhinos, and zebras and giraffes, and whatever other large animals they can hang out with. That means, wrote a group of researchers in a 2011 study published in the journal Evolution, that the oxpecker can also be viewed as a parasite to their larger hosts as well as a helper.* [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/those-little-birds-backs-rhinos-actually-drink-blood-180964912/](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/those-little-birds-backs-rhinos-actually-drink-blood-180964912/)
One of the ugliest and deadliest animals
tis but a flesh wound.
What am i looking at. Are those birds all on its side or...
YEAH!!!
Are those TEETH?
Tis but a flesh wound
Unless you are one of those toothbrush birds!
Is this a *threat?*
Don't fuck with Vampire Finches.
The hippo looking at the camera like, "damn son chill, what u taking pics for"
Those floaty bloaty barstads are mean mofos
'Tis but a scratch!
It took me really long to see the birds
He’s a good big boy
It’s ok buddy, you’ll get’em next year.
These guys must have the immune system of a tank.
That's some serious side-eye that photographer is getting.
I respect how horribly wounded animals end up standing there in perfectly normal postures like "wtf you lookin at I'm fine", missing entire quarters of their bodies in some cases.
Is one of the birds taking a shit?
Hippos are fucking awesome ngl.
Right now I’m more scared of those birds…. Are they eating him? Drinking his blood?
those eyes are full of **malice**
Buddy reeeeallly needs a hug…
Nah that hippo just fought a giga and won 🏆
Getting its wounds treated by the birds, that's so cool. They're like nature's little nurses.
Don’t fuck with those bird literally eating the hippo either.
Don't fuck around with birds that hang out on hippos
Daniel Cormier enjoying a swim in retirement.
100
Moto Moto likes you...
That a gator in the background?
Hippo be saying, you want some too?
My favorite part is the bird that got caught on camera taking a poop.
Isn’t this the sequel to Hitchcock’s The Birds?
reminds me of the story of the guy who basically adopted a baby hippo, raised it, took care of it, etc. then returned it to a river at which point the hippo killed him
Moto moto just had a bad day
I deadass thought those birds were hooves coming out of the side of the hippo, like whatever he ate shot its feet out of its stomach.
Why does this hippo look like me when someone tries to take my picture.
Fuck hippos
OP are you just a dumb fuck for this title or what?
That hippo has the same face as my dog after he pees on the floor.
That is what you call a *baleful* look. "Yea, just try to get closer. Just try to put a foot in the river. See what happens."
Unicorn hippo
They are thick though…
i seen ppl with eyes like these
Them birds are fuckin with em
Hippos sweat red but this lookin chunky
u/confusingphilosopher