Hippo vs. elephant: Animal giants face off

It was a battle of the giants when a hippo had a tetchy face-off with an elephant. (Nicole Cambre/Rex Features/NationalGeographic)

A hippopotamus left no room for his message to get lost in translation when he ferociously defended his territory from an African elephant.

"There is an island on the middle of the Chobe River to which this elephant had crossed," photographer Nicole Cambre who captured the scene while visiting Botswana told National Geographic. "The hippo was not happy about it and was apparently defending its territory."

Cambre watched the scene unfold as the hippopotamus swam towards the elephant near the shoreline. The hippo approached the elephant and gave him an up close view of his massive teeth.

When the hippo came face to face with the largest land animal on Earth, he did not back down. He only reconsidered once the elephants' posse arrived.

"When more elephants crossed the river to the island, the hippo backed off and went back into the river," Cambre said.

While hippopotamus' are often called the most dangerous animal in Africa, the elephants were confident that their sheer size would be enough to ward off the hippo.