This remarkable sequence of photos shows three hippopotamuses competing to be the dominant male while their herd bathed nearby.
The hippos squared up to each other, butting heads and opening their massive jaws wide to clamp down on each other’s throats.
The three male hippos struggle to gain the upper hand, with one bleeding right under their jaw in a Zambian river.
Hippos, which weigh an average of 1,500kg, are notoriously temperamental animals, with males frequently battling for space when resources run low or they get overcrowded.
Kanwar Deep Juneja, a keen photographer from New Delhi, India, captured the incredible images at close range in Zambia’s South Luangwa River despite being warned of the dangers.
‘The hippos were relatively close, and I was sitting right on the brink of the river, surrounded by crocodiles,’ he explained.
‘There was a little bit of anxiety and a lot of excitement when they got close to me a few times and I had to back up.
‘My guide did call at me several times to move up the bank and away from the river’s edge.
‘In the end, the two winning hippos chased away the loser before rejoining the herd.’
