A hyena got a fright when it tried to nibble on a 'dead' hippo - only to find out it was very much alive.

A video shows the hyena skulking up to the huge hippo thinking it was a carcass, only to flee when the massive beast leaps up.

Ismail Chalamila, 32, a safari guide, was on a tour in Ngorongoro Nature Reserve in Tanzania with five Europeans when he captured the moment on camera.

Ismail regularly sees the same hippo on his tours and says he has seen the same hippo do this at least three times before.

Ismail, of Arusha City, Tanzania, said: "I find him in the pool or lying like that all the time. I've seen him do it three times before."

"The hippo would have eaten it [the hyena] up. it would have given it a bite and serious injuries."

"The tourists were shocked but then they laughed because the hyena got away."