Johnny Sack
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 21, 2017
- 8,832
- 18,826
It is pretty rare for lions to take on hippos as they will not want to put themselves at significant risk of injury in taking on such large prey that can easily injure them.
The common hippo has really thick skin, several inches thick and as tough as rubber, so it’s hard to pierce their hides. They also have an impressive bite force with really large teeth. The canines of a hippo are self-sharpening and are over a foot long each.
Hippos can defend themselves in a variety of ways. Surprisingly for their size, they’re speedy runners, hitting top speeds of around 30 miles per hour, so they can flee from threats. That said they don’t often run from a fight as they can take on most predators.
The exception may be if a pride of lions attacks a single hippo. Even then, the hippo is significantly larger, capable of moving swiftly on land or in water, and has large teeth to defend itself. If the lions attack in the water, they might also encounter Nile crocodiles, which are quite capable of taking down a lion.
The common hippo has really thick skin, several inches thick and as tough as rubber, so it’s hard to pierce their hides. They also have an impressive bite force with really large teeth. The canines of a hippo are self-sharpening and are over a foot long each.
Hippos can defend themselves in a variety of ways. Surprisingly for their size, they’re speedy runners, hitting top speeds of around 30 miles per hour, so they can flee from threats. That said they don’t often run from a fight as they can take on most predators.
The exception may be if a pride of lions attacks a single hippo. Even then, the hippo is significantly larger, capable of moving swiftly on land or in water, and has large teeth to defend itself. If the lions attack in the water, they might also encounter Nile crocodiles, which are quite capable of taking down a lion.
