#hippo attack

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NAIROBI, Kenya | 2, including Chinese tourist, killed in Kenya hippo attack

NAIROBI, Kenya  — A Chinese tourist died after he was attacked by a hippo when he was taking pictures on the shore of Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley, just hours after a hippo killed a local fisherman in the same area, Kenya’s wildlife authority said Sunday.

A second Chinese tourist was injured in the incident Saturday night and received treatment in the local hospital in Naivasha, 91 kilometers (56 miles) miles southeast of Nairobi, the Kenya Wildlife Service said in a statement.

In the same area, a fisherman was attacked by another hippo a few kilometers (miles) from the scene of the first incident where the Chinese died, a police official said.

“The man was bitten on the chest and his injuries were serious and he died minutes after he was retrieved from the lake,” said Rift Valley Head of Criminal investigations Gideon Kibunja.

The deaths brought to six the number people who have been killed by hippos around Lake Naivasha so far this year.

Wildlife service spokesman Paul Udoto said the circumstances are not clear in which the two Chinese were attacked. He said attacks on tourists are rare because they are usually protected by guides.

He said hippos and lone buffalos pose the greatest danger to humans and there have been many attacks in which civilians and even rangers have lost their lives.

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/z0avlM

NAIROBI, Kenya | Chinese tourist killed in hippo attack in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s wildlife authority says a Chinese tourist died after he was attacked by a hippo as he was taking pictures on the shores of Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley.

The Kenya Wildlife Service said in a statement Sunday that another Chinese tourist was injured in the incident Saturday night and received treatment in the local hospital in Naivasha, 91 kilometers (56 miles) miles southeast of Nairobi.

Wildlife service spokesman Paul Udoto said the circumstances are not clear in which the two Chinese were attacked. He said attacks on tourists are rare because they are usually protected by guides.

He said hippos and lone buffalos pose the greatest danger to humans and there have been many attacks in which civilians and even rangers have lost their lives.

BBC News Magazine posted a story about Columbia’s hippo problem. It is an invasive species situation caused by the importation of these animals by infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Ecologist Rebecca Lewison points out that hippos “aren't like crocodiles… they don't see a thing and instinctively want to kill it.” This explains why no one in Columbia has been killed or hurt so far. However, they’re one of Africa’s deadliest mammals, and are responsible for about 500 deaths per year worldwide (490 more than sharks and wolves). They are described in the article as a “time bomb,” and a lingering threat to the local population.

For various reasons, solutions to the problem are still unclear. One element hampering the implementation of a cull is the “floppy effect." Carlos Valderrama, a vet working to curb the problem, notes that Columbians “are more vulnerable than Africans because they see hippos as cuddly, 'floppy' animals.” This also means that the charismatic animals must be handled sensitively. Photos of the bloodied bodies of charismatic animals won't do wonders for PR (case in point: Danish zoos).

The article closes with a consideration of how these animals have been used in popular culture and have become a fleshy metaphor for “what's happened in Colombia in the last 20 years.”

It should also be noted: This American Life had a fascinating short report about a plan in the early 1900s to bring hippos to America as a new food source. This is an adaptation of a longer written account. Curiously (to my mind), no one on the program seems to find anything glaringly wrong with the plan.

 Links:

Gates, Bill. “The Deadliest Animal in the World.” Gates Notes. 25 Apr. 2014. (for the record: it's mosquitoes)

Harven, Michelle. “Pablo Escobar may be long gone, but his hippos are still a big problem for Columbia.” PRI’s The World. 27 May 2014.

“Hungry Hungry People.” This American Life. 14 Feb. 2014.

Kremer, William. “Pablo Escobar’s hippos: A growing problem.” BBC News Magazine. 25 Jun. 2014.

Meier, Allison. “Curious Fact of the Week: Pablo Escobar’s Hippos.” Atlas Obscura. 3 Jun. 2103.

Mother Hippos Defends Her Young From a Pair of Giant Hippo Attackers!

Though some people may think of hippos as being tranquil, peaceful creatures, this is quite contrary to their reality. They can be carnivorous beasts, and the game “Hungry, Hungry Hippos” is completely accurate. In the photographs below, you see a pair of hippos savagely attacking a new born baby hippo.

Luckily, for the young hippo, the strength of an angry mother is one that cannot be defeated.…