An alert bystander just saved the life of a two-year-old boy who was swallowed whole by a hippo in southwestern Uganda.
At about 3 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2-year-old Iga Paul was playing near the shores of Lake Edward. A hippopotamus attacked the boy who lives close to the lake.
The hippo grabbed the small boy by his head and “swallowed half of his body.”
“It took the bravery of one Chrispas Bagonza, who was nearby, to save the victim after he stoned the hippo and scared it, causing it to release the victim from its mouth,” according to the Uganda Police Force.
The little boy suffer injuries from the hippo attack and was rushed to a local clinic, then he was transferred to the Bwera Hospital for more treatment. He received a vaccine for rabies and quickly made a full recovery and was released from the hospital.
The police have now warned bystanders by the lake, “Although the hippo was scared back into the lake, all residents near animal sanctuaries and habitats, should know that wild animals are very dangerous. Instinctually, wild animals see humans as a threat and any interaction can cause them to act strangely or aggressively.”
Authorities did report that this was the “first such kind of incident where a hippo strayed out of the Lake Edward and attacked a young child.”
According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, there are about 6,000 hippopotami in the Lake Edward area. These animals are the third largest land mammal after elephants and white rhinos. A male hippo can weigh almost 10,000 pounds and reach more than 16 feet in length and over 5 feet in height. But even though they are this big, they can reach speeds of up to 20 miles an hour and they are excellent swimmers.
Hippos are extremely dangerous when they feel threatened, they kill approximately 500 humans every year. They have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom with a massive 2,000 pounds per square inch.
Needless to say, this toddler is quite fortunate.
