Hippo Kills Australian Tourist in Kenya

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBA5PFUS5E.html

NAIVASHA, Kenya (AP) - A hippopotamus flipped and trampled an Australian tourist to death at a popular resort in central Kenya, police said Tuesday.

Vicky Elizabeth Bartlett, 50, was with a group of 12 tourists at Lake Naivasha on Monday night when the hippo attacked, said Simon Kiragu, the regional police chief.

"The hippo attacked the woman, flipping her into the air before tossing her on the ground and trampling her," he said. snip

Wilflife experts say hippos can pose extreme danger to humans. The animals come on shore at night to graze and will attack anything that comes between them and the water, where they feel safe.

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Think I have read that Hippos are responsible for more human deaths in Africa than any other animal.

[Elidor]

1. Poor lady

Hippos are beautiful, but scary. Hell, I've read of people being killed by Ostriches, so you know all those big critters in Africa are bad news.

[mark414]

2. shitty way to go

[DulceDecorum]

3. That story does not make any sense to me

Hippos are vegetarians and they are very very mild mannered
unless they think they are under attack or they have babies nearby.

As much as I dislike blaming the victim,
that woman must have done something to provoke that hippo.
Since hippos act like they are tame, perhaps she attempted to pet the thing. Several dozen tourists get themselves killed every year trying to pet wild animals. Perhaps she is one of them.

PS
I think that snakes kill far more people than do hippos.

[bleedingheart]

4. frankly I wouldn't go near them...looking from afar would be good

enough for me. They are huge animals and should be left alone...

it is sad that she had to die in such a frightful manner.

[DulceDecorum]

8. Mutual respect is the name of the game,

Which is why the overwhelming number of hippo accidents do not involve those who actually live there.

How they hunt.
All hippos eat plants. They graze by grabbing grass with their lips—which are 2 feet wide! They swing their heads to one side, tearing off the grass at its roots. Their razor sharp teeth are used primarily to frighten away predators and, when necessary, to fight each other for control of a herd or mudhole. Despite their usually gentle nature, their teeth and speed make them fearsome to other animals.

What they eat.
Every evening at sunset, these hungry giants waddle out of the water. They climb up steep banks and hollow well-worn paths to graze in grassy fields. Then, before sunrise, they follow the same paths back to the river, lake, or mudhole they came from. Hippos eat about 80 to 100 pounds of vegetation each night.

How they multiply.
Sometimes hippos are born underwater and must come up for air right away. At first, calves can hold their breath for only about 20 seconds, but as they grow this time will extend to five or six minutes. Young hippos are so comfortable in the water, they learn to swim before they learn to walk. Mother hippos are fiercely protective of their young—the young are easy prey for big cats and other predators. With their powerful jaws, mothers have been known to kill lions and bite crocodiles in half.
http://www.zoobooks.com/newFrontPage/animals/animalFacts/sniglet_h.html

Like I said,
there is more to this story than we are being told.

[Dookus]

5. Nope

they are anything BUT mild-mannered. Don't believe Fantasia.

In southern Africa, Hippos kill more people than all other animals COMBINED.

http://www.southafrica-travel.net/Tiere/e_flupf.htm

[NNN0LHI]

7. Yea, they are pretty damn mean. The Cape Buffalo terrifies me though

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhippo.html

Are hippos the most dangerous animal?

Dear Straight Dope:

I've heard more than a few times at zoos and on nature programs that the hippopotamus is responsible for more deaths in the wild than lions, tigers or crocodiles. But no one ever mentions what they do to kill so many people. Lions and tigers attacking people make sense, being meat eaters, but what do hippos do? Could you expose the hidden side of this otherwise goofy looking animal? --- Meg

SDSTAFF Jill replies:

We hear "fat and bald," we think "affable, jolly and placid." But notwithstanding Hyacinth, the hippo in Fantasia, Hippopotamus amphibius is as mean as a viper and a filthy pig besides. The name hippopotamus literally means "river horse" from the Greek (hippos=horse and potamus=river)--quite the euphemism compared to the more accurate Latin Gandulid lagoonus vicioso, or "vicious pond slob" (okay, I made that up).

The hippo, found today throughout sub-Saharan Africa, is considered by many experts, explorers and Africans to be the most dangerous animal in Africa (not counting the mosquito). Crocodiles and cape buffaloes are badasses, too, but nobody seems to have kept an actual body count for any of these species and they don't have belts to notch. They've all killed way more people than Africa's lions have. (A few rogue tigers have killed a lot of people too, but they live in India, not Africa.) The hippo is extremely aggressive, unpredictable and unafraid of humans, upsetting boats sometimes without provocation and chomping the occupants with its huge canine teeth and sharp incisors. Most human deaths occur when the victim gets between the hippo and deep water or between a mother and her calf. I've read descriptions of their ground-rumbling charges--bellowing loudly, swinging their heads like giant sledgehammers, the massive open mouth with slashing teeth and I'm thinking, "This little safari is taking a bit of a bad turn, Elliot."

From "The Dangerous Hippo," Science Digest, LXXVI (November, 1974), 80-86, by George W. Frame and Lory Herbison Frame:

Nearly all of the famous African explorers and hunters--Livingstone, Stanley, Burton, Selous, Speke, DuChaillu--had boating mishaps with hippos. All considered the hippo to be a wantonly malicious beast. Not long ago Spencer Tyron, a white hunter, was killed while hunting near the shores of Lake Rukwa, Tanzania. A bull hippo turned over the dugout canoe from which Tyron was shooting, and bit off his head and shoulders.

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[DulceDecorum]

9. With all due respect

ALL of the famous African explorers and hunters--Livingstone, Stanley, Burton, Selous, Speke, DuChaillu-- who had boating mishaps with hippos
were a bunch of miserable SOBs.
Those know-it-alls REFUSED to heed the warnings of the people living in those areas and they frequently mistreated and killed the people and animals they found along the way.
Their arrogance rivaled that of Dubya and they are PRECISELY the type that would provoke an attack from a hippo.

Funny how those explorers complained so much about vegetatian mammals
and did not utter one peep about carnivorous reptiles and yet stayed away from the places where crocodiles are found in abundance.

Did they never stop to think that the hippos might be mistaking the boat's shadow for a crocodile?
http://www.on-the-matrix.com/africa/reptiles.asp

[driver8]

10. From what I have read, Hippos are very territorial and can be

very mean. I have read a few stories in which people were attacked by Hippos. They are very powerful and their teeth are quite sharp -- they can do a lot of damage to a person very easily.

[CottonBear]

6. She was there at night at a lakeside.

From my years of watching nature shows on TV, I conclude that this may have been a very dangerous place and time. Those hippos can move really fast over short distances. What a horrible way to go. The hippo is very territorial animal.

[Robeson]

11. "this may have been a very dangerous place and time"...

Yep, that about says it all...

Its not a petting zoo for baby deers.

[Wcross]

12. Hippo's kill more people in Africa than any other animal.

I heard that on some radio show a few years back. I don't have time to google it this morning but I believe it is true. If you get between a hippo and the water it feels a threat and will charge.