You’re not laughing now! Hyena narrowly escapes jaws of an enraged hippo after mistaking the sleeping giant for a carcass
- The video was filmed by safari guide Carlos Ismail in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.
A hyena who mistook a sleeping hippo for a corpse had the last laugh when it managed to escape the jaws of the enraged beast, as seen in dramatic video.
The predator managed to miraculously escape after he initially mistook the sleeping giant for a carcass that he could feast on.
Intense footage shows a hyena stalking the back of a seemingly motionless hippopotamus half-submerged in seaweed.
As the opportunistic scavenger cautiously approaches the hippopotamus, chasing it through the shallow water, the semi-aquatic animal lifts its head and looks back.
The hyena turns its tail just in time as the hippo turns its huge body and chases it out of the water before rushing towards it, coming within inches of catching it in its powerful jaws.
The incredible footage was captured by safari guide Carlos Ismail, who was leading a tour of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater when he spotted the animal approaching death.
Carlos said: “This hyena is very lucky. He was on his own and I think he thought the hippopotamus was dead and would be an easy prey.
“He just managed to escape in time before he fell into the huge jaws of the hippopotamus. He barely managed to reach land.
“I’ve been a tour guide for nine years and I’ve never seen anything like this before. Although I saw the same hippopotamus chasing a lioness.
“They are not afraid of anything!”
As the opportunistic scavenger cautiously approaches the hippopotamus, chasing it through the shallow water, the semi-aquatic animal lifts its head and looks back.
The hippo jumps up and rushes towards the hyena, driving it out of the water and getting closer to catching it.
Hippos are extremely aggressive and are considered the deadliest mammals on the planet.
It is estimated that hippos kill around 500 people each year in Africa, both through direct attacks and when the animals capsize boats.
They have very sharp teeth and are also known to be fast runners, meaning the lone hyena, and possibly all the spectators in this case, were lucky to escape.