Fact Check: True Story of a South African Farmer Killed by a Wild Hippopotamus He Rescued (2024)

FAQs

Who got killed by a hippo? ›

A ranger who spent eight years protecting animals from poachers has been crushed to death by a hippopotamus in South Africa. According to Metro, Sphamandla Mthembu, 31, was with three fellow rangers at the Mkhuze Game Reserve on Sunday where they were protecting a herd of elephants and rhinos.

Though there were some bitten marks on Els's body, the hippo had not eaten up the body after killing him, as claimed by social media users.

A hippopotamus called Humphrey who became an internet sensation after being raised as a pet has mauled his keeper to death.

The beloved hippo who escaped years ago from the old Lion Country Safari, held off her captors for days, then was tranquilized and suffocated on her own weight. Bubbles' earthly remains reside in a warehouse in Vernon, property of the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.

The incredible hippo has been a part of the African ecosystem for millions of years, once ranging from the Nile river valley to the Cape. However, due to illegal and unregulated hunting, retaliatory killings and widespread habitat loss, the remaining 125,000-148,000 common hippos are now confined to protected areas.

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)

In actual fact, hippos kill many more people every year. Causing an estimated 500 deaths annually (as compared to only 22 for lions), hippos are deadly land mammals. This is because they are very aggressive and territorial, and have a habit of charging at boats and capsizing them.

Why are hippos aggressive? Hippos are extremely territorial and have few defense tactics. Hippopotamuses are extremely territorial. Since water is so important to them and they don't have the bodies to handle long migrations, they will lash out at anything they perceive to be a threat.

While more stats need to be collected, one study found that the probability of being killed by a hippopotamus attack is in the range of 29% to 87% – higher than that of a grizzly bear attack at 4.8%, shark attack at 22.7% and crocodile attack at 25%.

However, a 2015 study by the Mammal Review shows hippos “occasionally” feed on animal carcasses, a more omnivorous behavior. Hippos are known to attack and eat animals like wildebeests, zebras and kudus, as well as other hippos in cases of cannibalism, according to AZ Animals. They also steal meat from other predators.

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)

This is especially surprising given that they are primarily herbivores. Scientists suspect that this behaviour is borne out of extreme need, when other, safer food is scarce.

Will a hippo chase a human? ›

Hippos are also known to attack other animals, and humans, if they feel threatened or disturbed.

In a miracle, a two-year-old boy survived after being gulped down by a rogue hippopotamus in Uganda. The hippo spit the toddler back out after an onlooker pelted stones at the animal, Capital FM Uganda reported citing police.

You need to have at least $100,000 to get yourself one. They do not come at a low price because they are very rare, and they are illegal to keep as pets. According to zoologist Margaret Asencio, you must actually have to show that you own a zoo and get all the zoo's permission before you even get yourself a hippo.

According to Manetho, Menes reigned for 62 years and was killed by a hippopotamus.

Tonie Joubert's wife, Shirley, 56, who has been filmed in more than 100 documentaries swimming with Jessica in a crocodile-infested river close to the couple's home in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday night. Jessica's first calf, born on Friday, also died that night.

When Escobar was killed by police during a shootout in 1993, his estate was abandoned. Most of the animals either died or were transferred to zoos, except the hippos, which were left to fend for themselves. With no natural predators or droughts—which help control populations in Africa—the hippos thrived.

Jessica 'lives' in the river of Hoedspruit – South Africa and has been raised by her owners Tonie and Shirley Joubert if it was there own child.

The pig-like anthracotheres, which blossomed over a 40-million-year period into at least 37 distinct genera on all continents except Oceania and South America, died out less than 2 and a half million years ago, leaving only one descendent: the hippopotamus.