Evan Petkau, Luke Willms Chased By Hippos In Kenya (VIDEO)

When tourists sign up for a lake tour, they probably don't sign on for a major hippo chase.

According to MSNBC, two Vancouver men, Evan Petkau and Luke Willms, on a tour of Kenya's Lake Naivasha, found themselves on a motorboat stuck between pods of hippos. The hippos began to chase their boat, and it was all caught on a video that makes car chases seem like child's play.

As the men describe, "We got a little too close, one of the females felt threatened and started chasing our boat, and then all of a sudden they started coming from the side and the boat motor was going at full blast, and all we could do is just circle and circle until they stopped flanking us."

Petkua defends their actions, including the laughter heard on the video, stating that "They think we're out there teasing the hippos. But actually the laughter is just nervous laughter." The footage is rare because, according to wildlife shows, a hippo charge is hardly ever caught from start to finish.

While the men survived the chase, they don't plan to return anytime soon. As Willms remarks, "I think we're going to steer clear of Lake Naivasha, probably just stick to land or horseback safaris."

Hippos are the third largest land animal and are notoriously aggressive. According to the San Diego Zoo, they are one of the most dangerous mammals, and can kill a person if provoked. That said, their tusks and canine teeth are normally used defensively or in fighting other hippos. The hippo's habitat has been greatly reduced recently due to poaching -- hippos are hunted for their soft, ivory tusks.

WATCH the hippo chase:

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Comments

[butchcliff]

06:10 AM on 02/12/2011

Hungry-Angry-Hippos....newest game

[kiddub]

10:33 PM on 02/10/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEXYw91lQuY

[anothervoter]

11:48 AM on 02/10/2011

Go Hippos!

[Ranaldo]

09:12 AM on 02/10/2011

A biologist who spent many years working with African wildlife in the field assured me that the Hippo was the most dangerous animal on the continent because of their size and agressive nature.

[Reilly Diefenbach]

08:59 AM on 02/10/2011

I love a good hippo video.

[Sydney Light]

02:06 PM on 02/09/2011

One can only hope that the animals start to win a few...

[Master-T]

03:33 PM on 02/09/2011

One has to do more than hope. One has to get active and involved. Only humans can stop other humans from the endless abuses of humans.

[GlennWatson]

01:49 PM on 02/09/2011

It is not clear to me that they were being chased.

[kiddub]

10:30 PM on 02/10/2011

You can find the full video on you tube.

[slobone]

01:31 PM on 02/09/2011

Very disappointing, I thought we were going to see the hippos eating those guys. Oh, but then I guess it would have been in the Food section...

[SuperRyan]

01:24 PM on 02/09/2011

I still want a house hippo.

[maslin]

01:08 PM on 02/09/2011

One hippo can sink that boat.

Those two guys should go buy lottery tickets.

[Max Shaw]

12:28 PM on 02/09/2011

Yeah good thing their boat didnt stall out cause then they'd be on an episode of 'I Didnt Survive.' Those things can kill you!

[moldy]

12:17 PM on 02/09/2011

I thought the title read, "Tourists chased by Hippies" ... this ain't news!

[kezaezy]

02:19 PM on 02/10/2011

LOL!

[MrJoyboy]

11:14 AM on 02/09/2011

This is not "incredible". What would be incredible would be if the tourists were chased by a rabbit.

[DreadPirateRoberts5]

09:10 AM on 02/09/2011

We cannot blame the gentle hippo, as it was simply expressing it's anger over it's ruined ecosystem. They await the return of their King, Obama lord of hippodom.

[maslin]

01:05 PM on 02/09/2011

Seriously?

[SuperRyan]

01:23 PM on 02/09/2011

Just because the meds make you feel woozie, you should still take them.

[mamacat]

07:26 AM on 02/09/2011

From the January, 2006 issue of Smithsonian Magazine, in an article titled "Hippo Haven":

"Hippos have trampled or gored people who strayed too near, dragged them into lakes, tipped over their boats, and bitten off their heads."

In the same article it says that it is commonly believed that hippos kill more people annually in Africa than lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, and rhinos combined, although hard statistics do not exist.

The people in this video may have been laughing, but their lives were in danger.

[DreadPirateRoberts5]

09:15 AM on 02/09/2011

I am sure they would not have been laughing if they had been in one of the tiny native boats that requires a paddle.