The African lion (Panthera leo) and the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) are apex species in their respective habitats, the savannah and riverine environments. Lions are known for their social hunting prowess, while the hippopotamus is the second-largest land animal and one of the most aggressive. Lions do occasionally prey on hippos, but this interaction is highly infrequent and dependent on specific, rare circumstances.
The Feasibility of Hippo Predation
Predation on hippos by lions is an opportunistic event, not a routine feature of the lion’s diet. A successful hippo kill represents an enormous caloric reward for a pride, providing thousands of pounds of meat that can sustain the group for days. This high-risk, high-reward scenario is usually only attempted when the motivation is extreme, such as during periods of food scarcity.
The primary catalyst for this rare predation is environmental pressure, particularly severe drought. As water sources shrink, hippos are forced to spend more time on dry land, grazing further from the safety of their pools, which increases their vulnerability to terrestrial predators. Desperate times force lion prides to take risks they would normally avoid.
This kind of hunting is not a general behavior across the species but often occurs in specialized prides or those under duress. Prides living near perennially flowing rivers, such as in the Luangwa Valley or parts of Botswana, sometimes develop a unique hunting culture centered on larger, more dangerous prey. This specialization is passed down through generations, making it a learned and geographically specific behavior.
The Hazards of Targeting Hippos
The reason this predation is so uncommon is due to the formidable defenses of the hippopotamus, which make it exceptionally dangerous prey. An adult hippo can weigh between 2,500 and 4,000 pounds, representing a massive bulk difficult for a lion to subdue or even maneuver. The sheer physical power of the hippo means a single charge can crush a lion easily.
The hippo’s most potent weapon is its mouth, which can open nearly 180 degrees to reveal massive, sharp tusks. These modified canine teeth can grow over a foot long and are used primarily for fighting other hippos. They are equally capable of inflicting fatal wounds on a lion, and a bite can easily sever a lion’s body or limbs, leading to a high risk of injury or death for the attacking predator.
The hippo’s skin is surprisingly thick and dense, offering considerable protection against a lion’s claws and teeth. The hippo’s ultimate defense is the water itself, as they spend most of the day submerged. Lions are highly reluctant to engage such a powerful animal in its aquatic environment, and a hippo that reaches the water during an attack is virtually untouchable.
Specialized Lion Hunting Strategies
For a lion pride to successfully kill a hippo, they must employ highly coordinated, specialized tactics that mitigate the animal’s natural advantages. The first step is selecting the most vulnerable target, which is almost always a calf, a sick or elderly hippo, or an individual isolated far from the river. Targeting a healthy, prime adult is exceedingly rare and requires exceptional circumstances.
The sheer number of attackers is also a factor, as successful hippo hunts often involve a large coalition of lions, sometimes numbering eight to fifteen individuals. This large force is necessary to surround, confuse, and physically overpower such a massive animal. The pride aims to tire the hippo out, often by driving it away from the water or engaging it at night when it is grazing on land.
The actual method of attack is focused on immobilization and suffocation, not a quick bite to the throat. Lions will attempt to latch onto the hippo’s back, hindquarters, and neck simultaneously, using their combined weight to drag the animal down. Once the hippo is subdued, the lions deliver the fatal bite to the neck or windpipe, aiming to restrict breathing until the animal succumbs. Certain male lions, like those documented in the Luangwa, become known as “hippo specialists” due to their learned ability to execute these dangerous hunts.