GreenDrake: very incredible! My stay at Kwara we had to go in the small boat because the double decker had just been sunk 2 weeks prior. At Lebala I actually had the guide who was operating the boat so I did get the story firsthand. He said when they removed the boat that there were 4 round holes in the bottom where the hippo had bit right through. Really good that the excitement did not end in a terrible situation.

I'm with you I can watch hippos and listen to them for a long time, the behavior is fantastic.

GreenDrake,thanks for letting us in on the mystery.
NapaMatt, I am sure you'll be safe in your pursuit of the Pels.

I was surprised when I first learned the hippo is responsible for the most human deaths.

For that proposed overnight in the bush--after reading this, I think to make it really harrowing, one night should be spent on a mekoro.

OK, now I'm getting nervous. Was looking forward to the double-decker boat. If a hippo could sink that, I think the smaller boat would be like a hippo toothpick.

I must admit that after seeing the ease with which the hippo lifted Ruth's canoe out of the water, I had just a twinge of anxiety every time we drifted by pods of hippos in the larger powered boats, since even they could be seriously damaged or overturned. Certainly wouldn't stop me from doing it again, though. Just watching the amazing show from the water put on by the setting sun, gin and tonic in hand, makes it worth the small risk IMO.

SteelieJ,
Ruth's a trooper.

Some of these stories are a bit hair raising to say the least. Now that we know Beaven's story we'll have to cut him some slack. As far as being in the right channel at the <b>WRONG</b> time - I like to think of it along the lines of my obit saying &quot;she died doing what she liked doing in Africa, no less&quot; What a legacy.

p.s. Greend,
Thanks for posting this interesting info. Please let us know when the show will be aired again.

Thanks GreenDrake. The programme obviously had more depth than I suspected. So many of them are so shallow! (puns not intended)

Interestingly but typically, the incident involving the seriously injured person (a former Miss World contestant) got far more publicity at the time than the one in which a person was killed.

John

John - I can imagine the media really went wild with the ex-beauty queen angle. Do you know what year the attacks occured?

What John is referring to is that the guide that was attacked and survived was an ex- Miss South Africa and she went on to become a guide in the Delta. She was interviewed on the show and I must say I admire her courage and take on the event. She held no malice towards the hippo and realized it was just trying to survive. She portrayed herself and the hippo in her own words as &quot;both wounded survivors&quot;.

cybor - I checked Natinal Geog. to see if is is being re-aired in the next few weeks and did not see it listed ,but in the States on Weds Dec. 6th at 7pm EST and Sunday Dec 10 @ 11 am EST they are airing &quot;The Ultimate Hippo&quot;. I have not seen this program, but below is the description of the show:

&quot;The hippo weighs up to 8,000 lbs, can run faster than a sprinter, kills more people than any other large animal in Africa and shares a common ancestor with the whale. With vivid animation, up-close footage and infrared imaging, NGC explores the sciencebehind this 15-million-year-old marvel. From the fatal mauling of a fisherman to the vivid descriptions of a hippo's mouth from a safari guide trapped inside, Explorer investigates why this creature is worthy of our respect and admiration.&quot;

I forgot to give credit to Beavan. He came through when it counted.

Lisa,
Please enjoy your double decker boat. Let me bolster your confidence with some words of encouragement. Instead of being killed by a hippo you could get into an accident on the way to the airport, your international flight could crash, your charter could too, the safari vehicle could spontaneously combust, the tectonic plates could shift and you could be swallowed up by the earth, or you could be served a food at camp that you're alergic to(unbeknownst to you) and suffocate. Now do you feel better?

GreenDrake,

2003. According to one newspaper report on the 'net, the honeymoon incident was near Eagle Island camp, which I hadn't heard of.

The incident I remember most vividly involved the death of an Australian man in a hippo-mokoro clash in the delta a couple of years before. We were planning one of our safaris at the time, and my wife gave a firm 'no' to the idea of a mekoro voyage....despite the fact that I'd had a few mekoro trips years before and thought they were wonderful and safer than a car journey.

John

Statistics often skews reality. While it is true that the most human lives claimed by wild animals belong to the hippo this needs to be understood with perspective. Hippos occur naturally throughout the waterways of Africa and are not confined to National Parks and wildlife reserves as are many of the other dangerous predators. As a consequence they regularly come into contact with humans, which accounts for their unusually high kill ratio.

They are herbivores so will only attack if they feel threatened. They are not monsters waiting for a human to nail at every bend in the river.

The cruel reality is, i am sure many LOCALS are affected by hippos every year. I.e.,Fishermen etc et., unfortunately only the tourist incidents are thrown into light and glorified for media sensationalism....

Hari

Very good point, Hari. That's where all those deaths by hippos come from.

The Lake Malawi incident I referred to involved local people. They were fishmongers and their children...five women, an oarsman and five babies died when a hippo capsized their boat in May, 2002. The number of deaths undoubtedly caused this incident to get publicity.

John