One thing the internet proves again and again is that animals can make some unlikely friendships.
These stories usually speak to us because we have such an engrained way of seeing the world. Cats and dogs aren’t supposed to like each other. Mice are afraid of cats. There are likely countless examples like this, though there doesn’t seem to be one for hippos and ducks.
If this video is proof, hippos and ducks are at least a little fond of one another.
The clip in question comes all the way from the Netherlands.
In Rotterdam there is an enormous zoo called the Diergaarde Blijdorp, a zoo which has been around for 150 years. One area of the zoo has an aquatic enclosure where the hippos stay. On one day, the area had some unlikely visitors.
The visitor was a baby duckling that had accidentally fallen in the water.
Although it was trying its hardest, it couldn’t quite make it over the ledge to safety.
The duckling jumped and jumped at the edge but could never reach. Nearby, the duckling’s mother watched from behind a fence, unable to help. After a moment, a hippo spotted the ongoing struggle and decided to wade over.
Fortunately, some zoo-goers were filming the entire exchange.
While the hippo was just curious, the duckling was understandably afraid.
After all, hippos are enormous and the duckling was tiny! After a moment of chasing the little bird around the shallows, another hippo swam up to the crying bird as well. As terrified as the duckling was, the animals were finally able to reach an understanding.
With a little finagling, the hippos scooped the bird up over the ledge.
As soon as it was clear, the little bird ran as fast as it could to its mom.
After it was safely across the enclosure, the hippo who had helped out proudly lifted its head in the air, seemingly to acknowledge the mother bird across the way. Although stories of little ducklings getting separated from the group are not uncommon, not all of them have a pair of hippos to help them out!
The video has gone viral and has been covered by numerous different news outlets.
Once again, this clip shows that animals are more prone to help one another out than we may think. Although hippos are considered one of the more dangerous animals out there (for boaters, at least), this clip shows them to be cuddly and gentle with delicate animals.
For anyone having a bad day, this video is sure to cure it!
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