Are Hippos Friendly?

Whether you are looking for answers to this question in terms of taming a hippo or knowing its nature, you are in the right spot.

Hippos are generally considered shy giants, but they are territorial animals. It directly means that the hippos are not friendlier to any creature, including humans. As territorial animals, they do not allow any other one to intrude in their specific area. They are shy, but in case of the existence of any other creature, they can easily get aggressive.

Further, we are going to cover the topic in different aspects, such as whether they can be tamed as pets. Let’s start.

Territorial Nature

This is the main reason behind their aggressive nature. A territorial animal never allows any other creature to intrude on its territory.

To Protect Their Childs (Family)

Another important reason is that they are social creatures and live in the shape of herds(family). To protect their family, especially children, from predators, they can turn themselves into bulky apex predators in seconds.

Their deadly teeth allow them to tear animals with their bite while their thick fur gives tough time to other predators in case of biting a hippo. 

No Fear Attitude

With a massive body and bulky weight, these creatures own such attributes that other predators mostly avoid these giants. They just try to snatch their cubs. 

With such attributions, these giants are fearless in most cases. This attitude is also a cause for the hippo’s unfriendlier behavior. 

Dietary Habitats

Hippos are territory creatures but they can also get aggressive when they see any other herbivore grazing in their habitat. This can easily charge them, and in the case of small herbivores, hippos can kill that animal and also eat it. 

Astonished! But it’s true. They are herbivores and eat plants and grass mostly, but they also show omnivore behavior. You might be astonished and can question yourself! Are hippos omnivores?

Habitat Destruction

Habitat destruction can be another reason for their unfriendlier nature. In such cases, not just these giants, any creature can easily get aggressive and furious behavior. We are trying to destroy their habitat. Such Cruelty.

Further, humans are also involved in their hunting. So, the existence of any human around them is enough to provoke these giants. 

So, How They Behave In Captivity?

In captivity, their behavior is a little changed. It is due to their dependence on the zoo squad for food and other necessities. Mostly, they do not show aggression in a zoo, but what if they get threatened or feel any disturbance? 

In such cases, they can easily get aggressive, but due to the precautions of zoo officials, they cannot turn their aggression into big destruction. Sometimes, situations can get worse, which can lead to great trauma because a little attack by a hippo on any human can lead the individual to death. 

This is because our body attributes are not enough to absorb a hippo attack, but there is something to tell. 

This incident shows how deadly their presence is at the zoo. 

Can I Tame A Hippo? Does Their Attitude Change If I Take Care Of It From Their Childhood?

It might be, but being a wild animal, they have some natural wild instincts that they are not able to deny, such as their aggression to protect their territory and family. Hippos cannot be domesticated in any case. 

It is because if it gets threatened or feels dangerous in any situation, it can cause big destruction in seconds. Further, they will need to skip their natural wild instincts to be good pets, which is impossible for any living being because of nature.

So, the idea of taming a hippo as your pet is not appropriate. Despite their behavior, it is never affordable to keep them as a pet. It needs a wide area with muddy water resources and green grass. Both water resources and a lot of grass are necessities for their survival. 

Are They Friendly To Humans?

In the wild, there is no chance of their friendly nature for humans. As a territory animal, there is no space for anyone, even for their brother. In case of the presence of a human in their territory, they can never allow him to stay longer, and an attack by a hippo is also possible. I know it doesn’t sound great, but you can’t be a friend of a hippo in any case.

Hippos Attacks On Humans

This incident happened in the Hunan province of China. Here at Changsha Ecological Zoo, two male rhinos were fighting with one another. At the same time, one individual in the team came near to them. 

The one hippo focuses on him and shows some charge against him. According to him, he was lucky because it was a just charge, and the hippo allowed him to go out. Despite this, he was slipped just before the mighty mouth with the deadly teeth of the hippo, and he survived. 

In another incident, a boy of 2 years was playing near his home. There were lakes near his home, and suddenly, a hippo tried to grab the boy, but the bystander person got involved and saved the boy. 

The incident happened in Uganda’s district Kasese in 2022. 

Both of these incidents show how lethal it can be to a hippo present near you. 

Final Words

I have no more final words because of everything explained above, but after knowing about these incidents, I recommend you maintain a distance between yourself and Hippo. They rarely attack humans, but their attack can be lethal. 

So, be mindful when you intrude on their territory.