Episode Information

For many, hippos are the quintessential animal of the African waterways. Few animals are more influential in shaping their environment, through their grazing, fertilising and just sheer mass. All other creatures, from elephants and crocodiles to shorebirds and fish, benefit from cohabiting with hippos. When these giants go head to head their displays of strength and brutality are jaw-dropping; they sumo-wrestle but with lethal jaws – a real clash of the titans. It’s not just the massive African hippos that steal the show, there are also pint-sized versions that are just as incredible. Pygmy hippos are kings of the jungle river; they are the height of a sheep but are twice as heavy, and they’re so secretive that much of their behaviour remains a mystery. Wherever you find them, it’s the hippos that are the real stars of the river.