Angry hippo chases shocked sightseers through the water

Story and video from SWNS

This terrifying footage shows the moment a group of sightseers took a boat out to look for hippos - only to end up being chased by one of the huge animals.

Hair-raising footage shows the massive animal gliding through the water in the wake of the speedboat - mostly underwater, but occasionally rearing its head to breathe as it continues to follow the boat.

The incident took place on May 23 on the Zambezi River in Livingstone, Zambia.

The filmer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said:

"It all started as a sunset cruise along the Zambezi River in Livingstone, Zambia. We were admiring a pod of hippos near our boat as we were making our way down stream back to the lodge.

"I took out my phone to record them in their natural habitat with the beautiful sunset over the Zambezi in the background. As we were passing the hippos, we noticed one go under, little did we know that it was coming straight for us.

"As soon as it breached the water, we knew it wasn't going to stop until we were well out of its way, it continued chasing us for about 200 metres until we were able to speed away to safety."

Hippos can measure up to five metres in length and can weigh a whopping 1,500kg (235 stone).

They are considered to be the world's deadliest land mammal, killing up to 500 people a year in Africa.

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