Photo: Eastern Cape Hippo

20Dec

Photo of the Week

hippo

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Specialist photographic ranger Jacques Matthysen captured this magnificent photo of a hippo breaking the surface to take a breath of air.
Canon 1dm4 + Sigma 150-600mm Sports 1/1600 - f6.3 - iso1600.

An adult hippo needs to resurface every 3 – 5 minutes to breathe

The process of surfacing to breathe is automatic. A hippo sleeping underwater will surface to breathe without even waking up, which is why we most commonly only see their nostrils breaking the surface. 

Matt was incredibly lucky to capture this moment. Did you take any great photos of hippo while on safari at Kariega? Please post them on Facebook if you did. We would love sharing your experiences.