Adorable Hippo Calf Stands up to Herd of Elephants to Defend Watering Hole

There's nothing cuter than watching a baby animal (or human!) with a ton of confidence go up against something or someone bigger than they are. Take for instance this hippo calf who - on their own - goes up against a herd of elephants to keep them away from the herd's watering hole. The calf has more confidence than they know what to do with! Explore.org shared a video on Thursday, August 15th from one of their live cams in South Africa, and it's the cutest thing you'll see today.

The video shows the hippo calf approaching four elephants that are trying to get down to the watering hole. The hippo's not having it though and refuses to let them near the water's edge. While the elephants put up a good fight, even swinging their trunks around, they give up after a few minutes. Watch how proud the little hippo is that he defended his herd's water!

The hippo even walked back down to the water with a little swagger and head held high! Explore.org says in the video's overlay that normally it's the most dominant hippo that runs other animals off. I cracked up when they said that dominance is loosely based on size, "very loosely based, in the case of this hippo calf." Proof that size doesn't always matter!

Commenters also got a kick out of the cute video. @girlfrommars kissit had it all figured out and made a good point, "The elephant knew it was a baby and did not want to get the mothers attention." and another commenter added, "Love how the elephant was using its trunk to say “Shoo! Shoo tiny creature!” haha!" @Rearviewmirror wasn't wrong when they said, "Confidence is everything!" and @Lee Lee agreed, "He understood the assignment." I laughed at @Tony Zamboni's comment, ""We just wanted a sip of water bro, don't be a Karen" LOL!"

Related: Baby Hippo Adorably Refuses to Get out of the Pool at Wildlife Park

Facts About Water Loving Hippos

Hippos spend the majority of their time in the water; up to 16 hours a day. They spend so much time in the water with their bodies submerged to keep their skin cool and moist. Hippos eyes and ears are extremely sensitive, and they excrete a reddish-orange antibiotic fluid that absorbs UV light; it works like sunscreen does. If you ever see a hippo that looks like it's crying bloody tears, don't freak out! It's just them producing their own sunscreen.

Adult hippos can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes at a time, but calves and young hippos need to surface more often. While hippos can move fast in the water, they're actually not swimming (they don't know how!) Instead, they walk along the bottom of the water. Hippos are known to be highly aggressive animals and are only slightly more even-tempered on land than when in water. If you ever come across one in the water, they're ready to defend their territory and chances are not good that you'll win the battle.

Don't let hippos' massive size fool you, they're extremely fast on land and in the water. On land, hippos can run up to 30 miles per hour and can easily outrun a human. They can move about 5 miles an hour in the water, while an average human only swims about 2 miles an hour.  Whether on land or in water, it's always best to admire these enormous animals from a distance and to never approach them...not even a cute little hippo calf like the one in this video.

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