Every animal on the planet has its weak moments, even those that are considered the strongest of them all. In the Mara, down at the Mara river, during the primary school winners safari 2017, one of the students got to ask,” in the river, between the hippopotamus and the Crocodile, who is the stronger one?” I was very surprised when the security personnel cum tour guide said it was the Hippopotamus. With those razor sharp teeth, how come the crocodiles have it very hard to shred the tender skinned hippopotamus?! That was news to me that need investigation. By the way, did you know that the hippos kill more human beings than any other wild animal? those guys are very vicious yet calm if you mind your own business.
For giraffes, as tall as they are, they have points in their lives when they are completely defenseless. I know you know that one kick from an adult Giraffe can kill an adult Lion. The lion too knows this. That’s why they only attack the young ones only. The way of the jungle is not easy.
One of our giraffes had such a grueling experience with a lion. One of the lions from the park had escaped and came over to our premises. Now easy there, our rangers are good, they took care of her, our premise is always safe. On this fateful day, Salma, the giraffe had just been born, a month or so old. She was born to the oldest Mom around, Betty, 18 years old. The lion was able to find Salma in her hiding. It was war between the lion and Betty because, Salma was almost suffocating since the lioness had dug her teeth in her neck.
Since then, Salma is always aggressive. With her, you do not try the “Kiss” feeding. She might headbutt you. Till now, she has the marks on her neck to prove.