Baby hippo uses its body as bait to protect its mother from a hungry lion

A rare video shot in Kruger National Park (South Africa) shows a lion encountering a hippo, but in a scenario that few people think.

At the beginning of the video, the hungry male lion seems to have easily obtained the spoils when he discovers a mother hippo lying on the side of the road, having been starved for days and becoming exhausted.

However, when the lion had not had time to eat the poor animal, suddenly a baby hippo appeared.

It grabs its body and appears a bit weak to attract predators. However, when the lion approached, the hippopotamus turned around to face it without hesitation. In the video, it can be seen that the lion, although fully grown and full of strength, is timid and does not dare to attack the baby hippo.

Baby hippos actively attract predators, but are determined not to give up.

In one segment, when the baby hippopotamus moves, the lion rushes from behind, intending to knock the animal over. However, it quickly moved towards the mother hippo, and turned its head as a challenge.

After a few seconds of hesitation, the male lion decided to give up "the game" and withdrew peacefully. So in the end, the mother and daughter hippo miraculously survived thanks to the bravery and determination of the baby hippo.

However, according to the caption of the video recorder , the two hippos still could not avoid death about 2 days later because they could not find food . This is the cruel fate of natural enemies from which they cannot escape.

Despite their ferocious nature, sometimes attacking their own kind, the motherly love in hippos is amazing.

Hippos are mammals that mainly eat grass. It is one of the largest land mammals and the heaviest even-toed ungulate, although much smaller than the giraffe.

Hippo's favorite habitat is half underwater, half on land. They usually inhabit the rivers, lakes and mangrove swamps of West Africa where males dominate a section of river and lead herds of 5 to 30 females and their young.

Despite their clumsy and slow appearance, hippos are exceptionally agile and dangerous. They are considered the most aggressive creatures in the world.

Perhaps, this is the reason that even an adult male lion does not dare to face the hippo directly, and always has the mentality of running away.

Even so, hippopotamuses are experiencing a significant decline in species due to prolonged drought, which has left rivers without enough water, or lack of vegetation - their main food source.

In addition, old and weak hippos are often the victims of being excluded from the community, because they are not able to compete for a place with large, strong males.