Hippo vs Crocodile: A Showdown Between Heavyweights

Crocodiles and hippos are the largest and fiercest denizens of Africa’s freshwater habitats. While they are not natural rivals—they do not compete for the same food, nor do they normally eat each other—they do occasionally clash when territorial disputes arise. That’s a lot of heft, a lot of teeth, and a lot of power. So, who exactly would win in a heavyweight showdown of hippo vs crocodile? In this article, we’ll explore this bruising scenario

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Key Points

• Hippos are far bigger than crocodiles and have much bigger mouths. Crocodiles have more teeth and a more powerful bite. 

• Crocodiles are carnivores and stealthily ambush their prey. Hippos are herbivores, but aggressively protect their territory.

• Hippos are too big for crocodiles to attack and they will chase crocs from their territory if necessary.

Hippo vs Crocodile: Tale of the Tape

Let’s start by measuring up the combatants:

Characteristic

Hippopotamus

Nile Crocodile

Class

Mammal

Reptile

Food Chain Rank

Primary Consumer

Apex Predator

Trunk Color

Brown

Olive gray with yellow underneath

Body Shape

Round

Long, Pointy, Tapered

Weight

3,000-9,900 pounds

500-1,300 pounds

Height

4-5.5 feet at shoulder

12-19 inches

Length

10.5-16.5 feet

12.5-19.5 feet

Open Mouth Measurement

3-4 feet

Up to 2.75 feet

Speed

22 mph on land;5 mph in water

22 mph on land; 15 mph in water

Bite Power

1,800 PSI

3,700 PSI

Number of Teeth

36

64-68

Size of Teeth

Up to 18-inch canines

2-4 inches

Greatest Assets

Size, aggressiveness, thick skin, speed

Stealth, camouflage, teeth, tough scaly back

Greatest Liabilities

Calves are vulnerable

Low to the ground

Senses

Excellent sense of smell; good underwater eyesight; good underwater hearing

Excellent night vision; excellent underwater vision; pressure receptors allow them to sense things around them in water

Go-to Attack Moves

Charge, bite in half

Ambush, bite, death roll

The numbers above give the hippo the clear pre-fight nod. It is the second largest land animal on the planet, after the various elephant species. It weighs in up to seven times heavier than a crocodile, topping out at nearly 5 tons. Toe to toe, on land, the hippo towers over its lowly opponent. It also has a significantly larger mouth, one in which, when fully opened, an adult human could comfortably (or uncomfortably) sit. The crocodile does score points for nearly doubling the hippo’s bite power and number of teeth, but the hippo counters with massively outsized canines, the largest teeth of any land animal (that isn’t a tusk).

Crocodiles Do Eat Hippos…

Crocs will occasionally kill and eat a baby hippo that wanders too far from the protection of its bloat. Adobe Stock / Christian

Despite the major size differential, crocodiles remain the only apex predator in the ring. While hippos may opportunistically munch on random hunks of carrion, they do not actively hunt and are predominantly vegetarians, eating up to 80 pounds of grass and other vegetation on a nightly basis. Crocodiles, on the other hand, are exclusively carnivorous. Crocs will occasionally kill and eat a baby hippo that wanders too far from the protection of its bloat. And, they will eat any dying or dead adult hippos they encounter.

But, Hippos Are the Boss

But in the rivers, lakes, and wetlands of Africa, hippos are still the alpha. They are simply too big for crocs to get their mouths around. Even if a crocodile were to grab a hippo’s leg and deploy its go-to move, the death roll, it would likely fail to budge its much larger neighbor. Hippos, on the other hand, can bully crocodiles by throwing their weight around, asserting a clear dominance.

Hippo vs Crocodile: Natural Stalemate

The result is a natural stalemate. Crocodiles would love to eat hippos. That’s a lot of meat—and crocs do not normally discriminate. But they shy away from tangling up with any animal with such a size advantage. Hippos, for their part, are fiercely territorial and will challenge any animal, human, or fellow hippo that crosses the line. (They kill up to 500 people

every year.) But, they seem to consider most crocodiles part of their territory.

As a result, hippos and crocodiles can often be observed sharing the same water pool or sunning alongside each other on the shore. Hippos are even known to nibble on crocodile tales, as if using them as a toothpick. Even baby hippos seem to be comfortable swimming near large crocodiles when there are adult hippos near.

And the Heavyweight Champion of the African Wetlands Is…

Hippos can grow to be seven times heavier than the average crocodile, topping out at nearly 5 tons. Adobe Stock / Karlos Lomsky

When push comes to shove

, though, this matchup results in a clear winner: the hippopotamus. They may not be apex predators, but they are herbivorous mountains alongside carnivorous crocodilian hills. A hill cannot take down a mountain and would get crushed if it tried. So, crocodiles nearly always cede to the mountains they share their waters with, even offering them a neighborly smile.