Tourists on a wildlife photography tour on the Chobe River managed to capture a territorial hippopotamus charging their boat in a video that’s gone viral.

YouTube user David Jackson says his son Craig Clive Jackson captured the footage on an iPhone during their tourist boat safari in Kasane, Botswana.

“We were travelling on the Chobe River in Botswana, when we came across this Hippo which appeared to want to charge the boat, fortunately the iPhone was at the ready and we managed to capture this magnificent footage. The Hippo was closer to the boat than what it appears on the video. It is amazing how fast a Hippo can move in water, never under estimate a Hippo speed by its physical size.”

Although hippos are herbivores, only eating plants, they are fiercely territorial and have incredibly powerful jaws. With an average weight of nearly 1,500kg, their jaws can open to nearly 180 degrees and their bite force has reportedly been measured at 1,800 pounds per square inch — nearly twice that of a hyena. Hippopotamus canines and incisors can grow to more than a foot in length.

Stories of inflatable boats being punctured or hippos knocking over small boats and attacking passengers or crew are not unheard of.

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