buddhabuddyMay 18, 2025
Geoff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Despite being semi-aquatic, hippos can actually run faster on land (~20mph) than they can in water, and they don't swim, they run along the bottom.
The upshot is that in a hippo / human triathlon, we just have to pray that they're not that good on a bike.
May 18, 2025 at 7:36pmWeb
Show threadGrant_HMay 18, 2025
@_thegeoff iirc, hippos are the biggest killers of humans amongst African wildlife. People fetching water from rivers...
Show threadGeoff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿May 18, 2025
@grant_h Most common mammalian killer - doesn't get close to mosquitoes and various pathogens they can carry.
Show threadFritz AdalisMay 18, 2025
@_thegeoff @grant_h
He said biggest killers, not most common. Hippos are bigger than most mosquitos.
Show threadGeoff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿May 18, 2025
@FritzAdalis @grant_h Ah, well in that case, elephants. Don't kill all that often, but definitely big 😉
Show threadRobin BartonMay 19, 2025
@_thegeoff And they are mean territorial buggers who will rip your head off just because
Show threadnexMay 19, 2025
@_thegeoff I don't doubt that hippos can sprint fast enough when they want to bite your head off, but would their running be of any concern in a triathlon? I mean, how fast are they over several kilometres?