Posted on 16 August, 2019 by Flatdogs Camp in Animal Encounters, Destinations, Multimedia, South Luangwa, Videos, Wildlife, Zambia
© Flatdogs Camp
What do you do when a leopard kills a bushbuck in camp and then leaves the carcass during the day? Set up a camera trap of course!
At Flatdogs Camp we were excited to find a bushbuck carcass just 10 metres behind our main area. Suspecting that a leopard had made the kill, we eagerly set up our camera trap hoping to capture the leopard returning to the carcass during the night. We can safely say we got a lot more than we bargained for when we caught a meat-eating hippo in action!
© Flatdogs Camp
When sifting through the footage we were thrilled to see the young leopard return to her kill, where she continued to feed on the bushbuck. However, she was soon interrupted by a male hippo who scared her away and then began to feed on the carcass!
© Flatdogs Camp
Although there are several documented sightings of hippos eating meat, it is certainly rare to see this behaviour. Especially as there was still plenty of vegetation around for the hippo to eat.
Watching the hippo lick and pull at the meat was extraordinary as they are typically known as being herbivores, but it just goes to show you should always expect the unexpected out in the African bush.
WATCH: A leopard loses its kill as a hippo takes over (© Flatdogs Camp) If you want to see the video, click on the title!
The hippos seem to be extremely jealous of their 'property' 
