This is the dramatic moment a terrified zookeeper fled from an angry hippo charging at him in China.

The worker - with a cigarette hanging from his mouth - entered the zoo enclosure while the two territorial bulls began attacking each other.

He tried to break up the fight by distracting one of the beasts - but was sent running when they turned their fury on him.

Heart-stopping footage shows the man scrambling out of the pen but skidding and slipping on the wet concrete surface entrance with the beast at his heels.

The enraged hippo bared its huge teeth in a threatening display as the man - still with a fag between his lips - calmly used his arms and feet to keep the hungry giant at bay.

The hippo left the keeper alone to continue feeding on greens but as the man stood back up, the bull charged at him again just as he was leaving the enclosure. This time he could run to safety.

Astonishingly, the zookeeper escaped unharmed following the horror clash at the Changsha Ecological Zoo in Hunan province on September 24.

Officials at the Changsha Forestry Bureau are now investigating the incident.

A spokesman said: 'Staff at the zoo have been instructed on when it is safe to enter the enclosure of all animals. They must take extra care and avoid situations where males are in combat or when females are in heat.'

Hippopotamus attacks on humans are rare, but they can be deadly. Hippos are highly territorial animals, and they will attack if they feel threatened. They are also very large and powerful, and their bites can be fatal.