While on safari in the Kruger Park, we stopped to watch a herd of buffalo approaching a water hole to drink. It was a hot day and some members of the herd decided to use this opportunity to cool off at the same time. We noticed a brown object lying still in the middle of the water hole, looking like a rock at first. We had a closer look with our binoculars and realised it was the back of a hippo sticking out. Whether the buffalo entering the water knew that it was a hippo and not a rock was a whole new question on everybody’s mind. More buffalo walked into the water until the hippo was literally surrounded by buffalo. To our surprise the lone hippo bull remained with his head under the water and stayed very calm for longer than any of us expected. Generally lone male hippos are extremely territorial and aggressive towards anything and anyone daring to come within a few meters of them. Finally one female buffalo pushed it too far when she bumped straight into the hippo, clearly not realising that a large male hippo was right in front of her. The hippo lost his cool and lifted his head out of the water, shaking it around while biting at the water before putting his head back under the water again. It took the rest of the herd a few more seconds to realise there was actually a hippo in the water with them. The herd all got up and quickly rushed to the side of the water hole, causing a huge noise and commotion. The herd then decided to move on and leave the hippo in peace.