# Polar Bear V's Hippo

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 2, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583 "2003-12-02T22:02:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Emperor\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583/21 "2003-12-03T06:21:04Z")

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If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that when it comes to gambling, the hippo always wins 🙂

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**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583/22 "2003-12-03T06:33:37Z")

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I think the polar bear would slam the hippo on its head with its forefeet–repeatedly. If a hippo can be stunned, the bear is all set.

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**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583/23 "2003-12-03T06:57:54Z")

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I don’t have a cite but I remember reading that Hippos are responsible for more human deaths then any other animal in Africa and look who they share that space with.

Goooooooooo the Hippo, I say.

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**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583/24 "2003-12-03T14:09:27Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by slipster \*  
> \*\*  
> Hippoi are herbiverous, which suggest to me that they may not have much instinct to fight. They also don’t have teeth designed for tearing and stabbing, nor do they have claws for catching. They also don’t look nearly as agile; I’m betting a polar bear could come at a hippo from all sides in the time it took a hippo just to turn around.
> 
> Hippoi are, obviously, powerfully built animals, but they are mostly built to float in the water and chew grass.
> 
> hippo is said to actually have quite sensitive skin, which helps account for why it spends so much of the time wallowing in mud.
> 
> I’m betting the polar bear would win handily wherever a match was held unless the hippo had a gun or something.\*\*

**slipster** , you must just be a Messageboarder in Straight Dope Land because one doesn’t even need to explore outside [The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhippo.html) to see that Hippos are much more serious bad-asses than you make them out to be.

.

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**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583/25 "2003-12-04T13:22:39Z")

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[plug]  
hippo \> polar bear

this is already settled without argument over in this animal rankings [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=224421) a couple of days ago.  
[/plug]

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**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polar-bear-vs-hippo/216583/26 "2003-12-04T14:26:54Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by slipster \*  
> \*\*…unless the hippo had a gun or something. \*\*

Hippos With Guns! BAND NAME!!

Oops…wrong thread.:smack:

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