Speaking as a big horror fan, I think 2026 has gotten off to a good start , with plenty more promising gruesome offerings on the way. But the horror movie I’m most looking forward to right now is Hungry , the hippo-themed creature feature coming out later this June. Why? Well, as astute readers may know, I have a soft spot for horror flicks that try to have at least one foot in scientific reality. And compared to sharks, bears, or the many other animals Hollywood has made scary movies about, hippos are a much more fearsome danger to people in real life. A hefty hippo death toll To be clear, the hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) is far from the deadliest animal in the world. That would be mosquitos, thanks to the many dangerous diseases they can spread via their bites. Malaria alone killed over a half million people worldwide in 2024, according to the World Health Organization. Once you exclude disease-related animal fatalities, though, hippos aren’t slouches.…