Hippos Deadly 60 Bites

On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.

Here's just one of my many favourites.

We start our adventure in beautiful South Africa.

Right, that's enough of all that pretty stuff.

We've got a deadly animal to find.

And to get close to them, I'm taking to the kayak.

Whay!

Aah-ha-ha!

The first animal on my list lives just downstream from here.

The animals that make it onto my deadly list

may be deadly in their own world, or could be deadly to humans.

Like these - hippos.

While I try and find them, have a look at this.

More people die from hippo attacks in South Africa

than from any other mammal.

But someone who lived to tell the tale is Robert.

So, Robert was saying he was out...

-It was at night-time, yes?

-It was ten past seven.

-Ten past seven?

-Yeah.

-Ten past seven at night.

Robert was out here in the fruit plantation -

these are lemon trees behind us -

and a hippo just came charging out of the trees,

-and you...climbed up here?

-Yes.

As you were climbing up the tree,

-the hippo caught you with its tooth...

-Yeah.

And then it fixed my leg and the tree.

That was my leg.

-So, the bite went through your leg and then through the tree?

-Yeah.

-That's where you see this cut here.

-Yes, yes.

That is amazing! Sorry, do you mind if I look?

'If you're having your tea, you may want to look away now.'

Well...

If any of you out there

have any doubt whatsoever that the hippo can be a lethal creature,

you don't need to see anything more than this.

Having told you everything I just have about wild hippos,

you probably think I'm out of my mind

to be getting this close to one, and you'd be right.

But Jessica here is a very special hippo indeed.

She's the only one in the world you could ever get this close to.

Oh, my life! She's coming out the water! Look at this!

You would probably instantly assume that we're in a zoo or safari park,

but this is a totally wild river

and wild hippos pass through here every single day

and socialise with Jessica here.

Give us a nice big smile, Jess.

You see those two huge, gargantuan incisor teeth

at the side of her mouth there.

They actually slot in to these two lumps on the top of her head here,

and they really don't serve any purpose for feeding at all.

They're purely for fighting and for defence.

And on a male, these can grow to an enormous size.

I've actually got a couple here.

If you can imagine those inside Jessica's mouth.

THAT is a weapon to be truly frightened of.

Jessica was just two days old

when she was rescued by Tony and Sheila...and their various dogs.

The river flooded and Jessica was separated from her mother

and washed up on a bank.

She's been part of the family ever since.

Now this is one of the most extraordinary animal encounters

I've ever had in my life.

The thing that's surprising...

Obviously, I've never touched a hippo before,

but it's the sensation of the skin.

She keeps snorting at me,

and because the diet is so heavy in greens,

believe me, it's a bit pongy!

Meanwhile, back to my mission. I'm on the hunt for wild hippos -

some of the most dangerous and unpredictable animals in Africa.

We've had a report that there are two downstream.

Our first hippo... just around this corner.

He's a big 'un. He's spotted us as well.

HIPPO SNORTS

Ooh!

Don't know if you heard that sound

but that was a very audible threat to us.

He's gone under the water.

This is where we've got to be careful

because we don't know where he's gonna come up again.

There he is. He's surfaced right in the middle.

He's looking straight at me.

Don't really want to get any closer than this.

The thing is, despite him being such an enormous bulk,

he could be pretty much anywhere here.

He could pop up right next to me.

I'd actually rather keep this shallow bit of water

between the two of us.

This is quite nerve-wracking.

It may seem that he's the one that's nervous,

but actually, there's no doubt who's more at home in this environment.

It's definitely him.

That huge breath of air, that's not just him emptying his lungs.

That was meant to scare me.

It's starting to get dark now, they'll be getting more active,

and pretty soon, looking to come out of the water.

This is THE most dangerous time,

and I'm certainly not hanging around

with an animal that could bite my boat in half

that could be right underneath me.

'Well, we found our wild hippo, so I'm heading back upstream

'to where I can get out.'

Look, he's just there!

He's come past us!

I don't believe it!

He's just sat in the river...

-That's the other one?

-MAN: That's another one.

'Another hippo's appeared, blocking my exit.

'When he dives, I can't see anything.

'I'll need the eyes of the crew.'

-He's just about 20 metres in front of you.

-20 metres?

He's just in line with my arm here.

He's coming.

PEOPLE SHOUT OUT

INDISTINCT SHOUTING

'This is a serious situation.

'I can't go upstream, I can't go downstream.

'I'll have to try and find a way out.'

He's coming right at you!

Steve, go back the way you came.

See the reeds in front of you?

-Yeah?

-Follow my arm - he's just in the water...

-He is?

-..just here. Just here.

-So, you cannot come down here, OK?

-That's fine.

-There he is.

-'It's as though he knows he's blocking my exit.

'I can't do anything but sit and wait.'

They are SO unpredictable.

You have no idea what they're gonna do next.

-Turning...

-'I can't wait any longer.

'He's turned and he's coming for me.

'Now I've seen a possible exit.

'It's a shallow stream and not somewhere I want to get stuck.'

Just be quick.

Go! Go, go, go!

He's coming towards you, mate.

FRANTIC SHOUTING

I tell you what...

That just shows you, you can never be complacent with wild animals.

And it also shows why hippos have to be on the Deadly 60.

HE SIGHS

That was too close for comfort.

The hippo has to be on my Deadly 60 list

because of its huge size,

its awesome speed

those lethal teeth and its unpredictable nature.

Just as well I had the team to help me out of a really tight spot.

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