When it comes to being sneaky, a hippopotamus is never the first creature that comes to mind, but this sneaky hippo joins an elephant watering hole in Hwange National Park in South Africa on Saturday (November 2).

According to the filmer: "The watering hole was surrounded by elephants but the hippo slowly proceeded towards the water and in the process had to make his way through all the elephants. One male elephant was standing in the water enjoying a drink when he realized the hippo was about to walk right past him. Most elephants become very grumpy and aggressive when their personal space is invaded, especially the males. Suddenly the peace and quiet was disturbed. The bull elephant made it clear that the hippo came too close for his comfort and became very vocal. At first the elephant turned around and threw his trunk towards the hippo, splashing it with water while trumpeting out loud at the same time. When the hippo didn’t react quick enough to his liking, the bull elephant lost his temper, uttering a deep and loud scream while slapping the hippo on his backside with his trunk in an effort to chase it away into the water. The hippo ran forward and it was home sweet home, back into the water. The bull elephant seemed happy that the hippo was where it belongs and everything turned back into a calm and peaceful scene, as if nothing happened."

It was just after sunrise when we headed out for an early morning safari in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. We stopped at a popular watering hole called Masuma pan. There were a large number of elephants already at the watering hole, enjoying an early morning drink. All seemed calm and peaceful while the first rays of the sun lit up the whole scene in front of us. Suddenly we noticed a large bull hippo that appeared out of nowhere. Hippos normally leave the water at night in search of food. This big male hippo clearly walked a great distance during the night as there were no grazing available near the water as far as the eye could see. It was during the peak of the dry season and very barren. The hippo looked tired and not in the mood for any trouble. All he wanted was to return to his small patch of water after a long night out. The watering hole was surrounded by elephants but the hippo slowly proceeded towards the water and in the process had to make his way through all the elephants. One male elephant was standing in the water enjoying a drink when he realized the hippo was about to walk right past him. Most elephants become very grumpy and aggressive when their personal space is invaded, especially the males. Suddenly the peace and quiet was disturbed. The bull elephant made it clear that the hippo came too close for his comfort and became very vocal. At first the elephant turned around and threw his trunk towards the hippo, splashing it with water while trumpeting out loud at the same time. When the hippo didn’t react quick enough to his liking, the bull elephant lost his temper, uttering a deep and loud scream while slapping the hippo on his backside with his trunk in an effort to chase it away into the water. The hippo ran forward and it was home sweet home, back into the water. The bull elephant seemed happy that the hippo was where it belongs and everything turned back into a calm and peaceful scene, as if nothing happened.