A Night in Hippo Heaven By Donald J Stoner It is said that hippos kill more people in Africa than any other animal (if you exclude mosquitos). But does that qualify them to be classified as dangerous game. I have certainly had my doubts until, that is, an experience I had one night in a farmer’s field. There is no question that an animal that weighs two tons, can run up to 20 mph and has huge teeth, has the potential of being dangerous. The danger is highest if you happen to catch a hippo on the land. Water is their preferred environment and they seem less threatened there. I don’t think any predator will attack a full-grown hippo in the water, although a big croc will certainly snatch a small hippo given half a chance. On the other hand, lion, especially a large pride, will attack a hippo if they catch it on land. This may have something to do with hippo temperament when they are away from water. Threaten a hippo on land, and it will head straight for the nearest water and run over or through anything foolish enough to get in the way. This is usually not “charging”; it is simply escaping. Of course, if you happen to be between the hippo and the water, the effect for you is not much different. He will not hesitate to kill you as he goes by. Since I have never really considered hippo “dangerous” game, I have never had a great desire to hunt one. Shooting a hippo in the water, while it can be challenging, is hardly dangerous. Thus, hippo was never on my “wish list”. However, in 1996 when on safari with my wife, an unusual opportunity arose that changed my opinion of hippo. I had a wonderful safari in a game-rich area bordering the Kruger Park. During that safari I had taken both lion and leopard. The leopard had not been planned but the opportunity came due to heavy predation on a nearby farm. The hunt for lion and leopard consumed almost all of our three weeks scheduled safari time, but in addition to taking a lot of bait, I had also taken several quality trophies. I was well past satisfied with the success of the hunt, so I had packed up my rifles and gear and planned to enjoy another couple of days in camp before catching the plane home. On the morning of our next to last day in camp, my PH excitedly came to our room and asked if I would like to take a hippo. “Well, not exactly! But I will listen to your proposition.” He then explained that a sweet potato farm in an area about an hour from our camp had just called him because they had been given a problem permit to kill a hippo that had been raiding their farm every night for two weeks. This was a real problem because the hippo was consuming an estimated 450 pounds of potatoes a night and doing great damage to the remaining plants. He then explained that the farm was near a reserve that was fenced off from private farm land to protect the crops. The fact that the hippo was leaving the reserve indicated it was probably a young male that had been driven out of the pod by the dominant bull. When displaced, they can become quite a problem as they search for new territory. Because of this behavior, my PH thought the offender would not be a trophy bull, but since the price was right, he suggested we take the job. He explained that we would have to be certain we killed the culprit and to do that we would have to catch him feeding on the field at night. He explained that we would have to wait till late evening and then, every hour or two, we would start near the river and walk the fields, working our way toward the back of the farm moving in absolute silence and darkness. We would find the hippo by sound since they make a lot of noise chewing up potatoes. Once located, we would get as close as we could and then turn the lights on him. That would trap the hippo. He would have to come by us to get back to safety and would probably try to kill us as he went by. His selling point was not the trophy, but rather that it was indeed a dangerous hunt. OK! Now you have my attention. I unpacked my .375 and solid ammo and my PH began making the arrangements with both the farmer and the game management department. Late in the afternoon we drove the hour or so to the farm where we met the farmer and his farm manager. They showed us around the farm just as it was getting dark. In doing so, we surprised a sounder of bush pigs which they also needed to remove, and I made a lucky shot from a moving vehicle at a running pig and put him down. It was a good start to the evening. After we surveyed the farm and developed our strategy, we parked under an old tree near the riverside of the farm and had some coffee and a light snack. It was a clear, cold night and the miles of plowed fields soon were shrouded in darkness. I was then given strict instructions that I will never forget. “You must remain absolutely silent until we locate him and get the light on him. As soon as the light hits him, you start shooting. Shoot for the head or neck, but get as many shots into him as you can. I will be standing next to you and the second I don’t see empty cases flying from your rifle, I will start shooting. This is serious and you must put him down quickly or someone will get hurt. Do you understand?” OK, I think I had the picture! I better shoot fast and well or you are going to do it for me and if I mess up, we will all be in a lot of trouble. I got it. Yea, right! Can I go home now? This was not exactly what I expected. Stumbling around in the dark with a hippo, not to mention all the other interesting things you might stumble into like mambas, cobras, adders and who knows what else, scarcely seems like fun.