Question: i was watchin deadly 60 with my bro and i saw he nwas in the water with some hippos and i never knew they wre so violent. so i was just wondedrin why and have they always been like that?

Kevin Mahon answered on 14 Jun 2012:

Yeah, shockingly its not Tigers or Lions or wolves or crocodiles but Hippos that are considered to be one of the most dangerous and aggressive large animals in the world.

It’s difficult to say what exactly has resulted in them being so naturally aggressive – but they are fiercely terrirorial fighting to keep bodies of water and protective of young calves. These are typical enough sources of aggression in all animals though, its just that hippos seem quick to attack and fight as oppose to merely making aggressive postures and noises.

What is strange and troubling are the constant reports of hippos attacking humans with no provocation – it’s instinct for them though it seems, and hippos as far we can tell have always acted this way towards us, going to ancient times!