Survival of the Fittest: Hippos vs. Crocodiles

The animal kingdom has its own unique way of ensuring survival of the fittest. When two tribes of large hippos meet with the fearsome crocodiles, the result is a huge battle of the beasts.

This was what occurred at the river of South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, Africa when hundreds of hippos living in one side moved to the upper side of the river in their quest for cooler areas amid the scorching heat of the sun. It appeared the animals had already encroached the space occupied by hundreds of crocodiles at the other side.

The herd of crocodiles was suddenly confronted with the presence of crocodile tribe. As the hungry crocodiles descended down the river, the hippos turned tail and ran back down and retreated to their own sanctuary.

But there was one hippo who was slow to move back and fell into the hands of its opponent. The dead hippo then laid motionless as the crocodiles immediately surrounded the animal in preparation for their lunch.

The rest of the hippos could only stay from afar and witnessed the crocodile tribe devour the dead animal into hundred pieces. They fled farther down below in search for a new respite where they could bask from the cool waters undisturbed by other animals.

As the extraordinary battle of the beasts unfolded, Photographer Marc Nol and his co-pilot witnessed the activities from above while onboard the microlight flight. Nol snapped some amazing photographs of the epic battle of the beasts and shared it to the whole world.

The Telegraph reported Nol noted on his travel journal, "We have approximately over 140 crocs feasting on a dead hippo as the relentless hot and dry season lingers on."

The fleeing hippos were too focused on their safety that they were unmindful of the hovering microlight flight above them.

"What I did find that was most interesting was that the crocodiles appeared to be the only animals that were concerned with the microlight flying overhead," Nol said.

Take a look at the stunning photographs of the two animal tribe's survival of the fittest at The Telegraph Web site.