This incredible set of pictures capture three hippopotamuses battling it out to become the alpha male as their herd bathed nearby.
The hippos squared up to each other, butting heads and opening their huge jaws wide to try and clamp down on the throats of the others. Each of the three male hippos desperately try to get the upper hand, with one left bleeding just under their jaw in a Zambian river.
Hippos – averaging 1,500kg in weight – are extremely temperamental animals, with males often fighting for space when resources are running low or they get overcrowded. Keen photographer Kanwar Deep Juneja, from New Delhi, India, captured the amazing pictures at close range in the South Luangwa River, Zambia – despite being warned how dangerous it was.
He said: ‘The hippos were relatively close and I was sitting just on the edge of the river, surrounded by crocodiles. There was a little bit of fear and lots of excitement as they got close to me a few times and I had to move back. My guide did shout at me several times to get away from the river’s edge and move up the bank. In the end the two victorious hippos chased away the loser and then returned to the herd.’
Video: Footage shows hippo biting into and attacking dead male
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