Hippopotamus is one species, which is said to have killed more humans than the other animals present in Africa. On the other hand, Bull Sharks are believed to attack more humans than the other shark species. There are bull sharks that attack hippopotamus for their meal and when they do that, hippo poses to be a great challenger as well. It is not an easy meal for the bull shark; instead they put up a great fight.
What the sharks do is that they bite the hind legs of the hippo and as the bull sharks attack underwater first, therefore, the hippos are not able to see what has bitten them from the back. Once they come face to face it is a big duel where both the bull shark and the hippo try to win over each other.
People often confuse between Rhino and Hippo, you can know Hippo vs Rhino differences and comparisons.
The duel between hippo and bull shark
If the bull shark witnesses that there is blood coming in under water, then without the knowledge of the source they attack it. Firstly, the hippo cries out in pain without realizing what the cause of the pain is and taking advantage of this situation the bull shark hits back in the hind leg trying to bite away the thin skin of hippo’s back leg. But, that too proves to be tough enough, so they manage to attack the tail of the hippo and pull it off. The hippos skin is thick and his weight is heavier too compared to that of a bull shark.
After the bull shark biting off its part, it is time for the hippo to look underwater and see for itself that it has attacked it from the back. Hippo is believed to be short tempered when they are attacked, so it is time to spot the shark. Now it opens up his mouth and reveals his huge canines that are almost a foot long.
This time around when the shark comes back to hit the hippo again, he is ready to bite the head of the shark at one go with its mouth. It crushes down the head of the shark and kills the shark this time around. So, in the duel between the two though the shark takes on the hippo first, but at the end hippo wins the fight hands down.
Hippo and the bull shark-differences
The third largest land mammal is the hippopotamus and though it has quite a resemblance with the pigs, in reality they are related to the family of cetaceans from which they have diverged millions of years ago. The hippo can stay in lakes, rivers as well as mangrove swamps, so it can be easily said that it is semi aquatic. In the day time, they try to stay cool by submerging themselves in the water and during the dusk they graze around on the grasses. The reproduction as well as the childbirth both occur in the water, moreover, they like to stay close to each other in the water, but when they are out grazing, they do it on their own.
In the case of bull shark you will find that they can live both in salt water as well as the freshwater and can also travel up the river as well. Though the bull shark can stay in fresh water all throughout their life, the main problem with that is the reproduction.
They move into the sea for breeding and the most interesting fact is that you will find the bull shark in the estuary most of the time. It is seen that the young bull shark prefers freshwater and the old bull sharks prefer salt water.
