Acrobatic hippo prompts laughter, comparison to synchronized swimmers

A hippo at a game reserve in South Africa had been given the nickname Hipney Spears by a tourist because of its dance moves in a waterhole. Then, on a recent safari, it performed a number, as if on cue.

Hildo, the name the Umkumbe Bush Lodge on the Sand River knows the hippo by, suddenly turned upside down with all four feet out of the water, prompting loud laughter among the tourists on safari.

“He’s stuck,” one tourist could be heard saying in the video.

“That is so funny,” another said.

The Umkumbe Bush Lodge posted the video on its Instagram page.

“He kept us entertained and in awe as he kept rolling around on his back almost as if he is a part of a synchronized swimming team,” the lodge wrote. “This old bull was all by himself peacefully resting and rolling around the watering hole.”

Wrote one commenter on the post, “Hipney Spears has all the good dance moves! I’m jealous.”