A face-off between a pack of wild hyenas, an antelope and a hippo turns ugly! This is the story of how a pack of ferocious wild dogs met their match when a 1.7 ton hippopotamus decided to drop by on their dinner party. These amazing images were captured at the Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa, where these wild beasts can roam freely.
However, as you’re about to find out, there’s rarely harmony in the animal kingdom and it can turn ugly very quickly. This is what happened when an outnumbered baby antelope was rescued from disaster by an unlikely giant hero, and the ending will leave you amazed...
The images were captured by quick thinking game ranger, Pieter Van Wyk, who was luckily on site to record breathtaking footage of mother nature at its most caring, and most brutal.
NEXT: The vicious pack mentality of African wild dogs…
African wild dogs are very social animals, living and surviving in packs. The species has become specialized at hunting during the day, and regularly hunt antelopes.
Their method involves chasing them to exhaustion. We all know what comes next… NEXT: It’s hard to see, but this is often the result of their perfected hunting method…
It may not be pretty, but this is what these species must do in order to survive.
But what happens when their hunt doesn’t go to plan? This is what happened when some very large and uninvited guests turned up… NEXT: It started out like any other hunt…
After being caught between a muddy bog and two wild dogs, the young antelope was caught off guard and soon found itself with two sets of teeth piercing it’s flesh.
Surely there was no hope for the youngster? NEXT: Was there any hope for the baby antelope?
This image shows the baby antelope struggling to its feet in an attempt to try and release itself from the dog’s grip. Could this antelope free itself?
Well, unfortunately the African wild dog has the strongest force of any dog in the world at 317 pounds. And to make matters worse, back-up was on the way… NEXT: Sadly though, this happened…
Out of nowhere, three more wild dogs turned up to claim the meal.
The antelope rolled onto its back and tried to kick the attackers away, but there was no chance the antelope could escape a pack of five bloodthirsty dogs… alone. What if the antelope had help? NEXT: The fight gets even with help from an unexpected guest…
The numbers were finally even thanks the arrival of a huge hippopotamus, who charged at the dogs, seemingly in an effort to scare them away and save the baby antelope.
But how would these vicious dogs react to their new dinner guest? NEXT: The hippo makes a brave move, but does it pay off?
As the hippo scares the pack of wild dogs away, they release their meal and the baby antelope flees into the mud.
But this wasn’t the end of this intense encounter. What were the hippo’s intentions and why did it bother to break up the dogs in the first place? NEXT: This intense story takes a dramatic twist…
With the dogs now surrounding the hippo and antelope, our giant saviour made his way into the mud and turned his attention to the stranded baby antelope.
But you won’t believe what it does next. Was our little friend safe with the hippo? NEXT: The hippo makes a very unexpected move…
As the baby antelope stares directly into the ranger’s camera – as if it is screaming for help on the inside – the monster hippo edges closer and closer to the antelope.
With the dogs watching from the bank, the hippo then does something very surprising… NEXT: Was it the end for our little friend?
Perhaps the hippo didn’t think the antelope was worth killing, or maybe it really was just trying to save it from the wild dogs, but it certainly didn’t seem interested in eating the antelope for itself.
Sadly though, the wild dogs were not giving up without a fight, and things escalated very quickly… NEXT: Return of the dogs…
With the hippo distracted by a handful of dogs on the top bank, two more dogs snuck down the opposite bank and into the mud.
With the hippo not paying attention, they bit and tore at the baby antelope, trying to drag it out of the mud… NEXT: But it wasn’t long until the hippo fought back…
As the huge hippo snaps at the dogs, they realize their lives are in danger and quickly flee back up the bank.
However, the altercation had left the baby antelope covered in patches of mud. What unfolds next is a tragedy… NEXT: The hippo isn’t ready to let his little antelope friend die without a fight…
It seems as if the numbers game was starting to catch up with the hippo. As he chased one group of dogs away, the other group took their opportunity to strike.
All the baby antelope could do was stand there and hope for the best… NEXT: Could the hippo keep up with the bloodthirsty dogs?
But, as the dogs enter the mud to grab their prey, the hippo once again catches them in the act and launches itself at them.
However, with the baby antelope covered in mud, the hippo makes a drastic mistake… NEXT: Confused by the quick-paced antics of the dogs, the hippo bites down…
A hippo bite has a whopping 1821 pounds per square inch of force, and the baby antelope sadly didn’t stand a chance.
The bite immediately snapped the baby antelope’s spine, and it was left lifeless in the mud. NEXT: The dogs see a window of opportunity…
With the hippo walking away, the dogs walk back down the bank and start dragging the lifeless body of the baby antelope out of the mud…
NEXT: Sadly, the rest of this story unfolds exactly as you’d expect…
The fact the hippo stopped fighting the dogs confirmed the fact that it did just want to protect the baby antelope – not eat it for itself.
As the hippo walked away in shame, even more of the dogs appeared to help pull the carcass out of the dirt. NEXT: Did these dogs really deserve this meal?
It may look harsh or cruel, but this is nature, and it’s exactly what these dogs must do to survive.
However, I don’t think anybody expected what happened next… NEXT: With the antelope dead, news travels fast around the savannah…