This is the terrifying moment a charging hippo attacked a boat full of tourists by repeatedly biting on its outboard motor with its massive jaws.
The boat tour was cruising down the Chobe River in Namibia on March 22 when it came across a pod of hippos bathing in the water.
Witnesses claim the skipper had approached the group from a ‘safe distance’ when suddenly a large, male hippo charged at the boat.
The skipper jumped into action and tried to facilitate an escape, but the boat was on the ground under shallow water, leaving it at the mercy of the huge marine mammal.
The hippo opened its huge mouth and began to chomp down on the boat’s outboard motor, leaving the plastic surroundings cracked.
Jackie Boshoff, who was on the river tour at the time of the incident, says she ‘actually couldn’t believe what was happening in front of me’.
A boat tour was cruising down the Chobe River in Namibia on March 22 when it came across a pod of hippos bathing in the water. Witnesses claim the skipper had approached the group from a ‘safe distance’ when suddenly a large, male hippo charged at the boat
The hippo opened its huge mouth and began to chomp down on the boat’s outboard motor, leaving the plastic surroundings cracked
Boshoff, 55, recalled how the boat approached the pod of hippos in the same manner ‘our skipper always does, and has done for over 13 years in this channel’.
She explained that the pod is ‘known to sometimes be aggressive’ and that the skipper is ‘always on alert for that kind of behaviour’.
‘We were quiet on the boat, not making a lot of noise, and the engine was off as we approached them from a safe distance,’ Boshoff said. ‘Then suddenly one particular male hippo begun chasing the boat out of nowhere.
‘When our skipper realised there was a potential problem of him hitting the boat, he turned the boat and headed away.
‘But because he was watching the hippo and not the front of the boat, we went into shallow water and the propeller got stuck in the mud.
‘Only later when we reviewed the footage could we see what appeared to be a small calf following the male hippo as it charged us.
The hippo is pictured swimming off after having chomped on the river tour boat’s motor
She added: ‘It could be a very young calf and he was just super protective of his young.’
Boshoff noted that everyone on board ‘actually remained very calm’ and said they were fortunate that ‘nobody panicked.’
She has described the entire experience as shocking and unbelievable, saying: ‘You hear and read about this stuff, never thinking it could happen to you.’