Guide saves canoeing tourist from hippopotamus attack

Victoria Falls Reporter
March 16, 2010



AN alert guide saved a tourist from the jaws of a hippopotamus during a canoeing safari in the mighty Zambezi River in Victoria Falls on Sunday.
The tourist was part of a group of tourists believed to have come from South Africa for a canoeing safari in the river when the incident happened.
"The guide scared the hippo away by firing shots. Otherwise the client would have sustained severe injuries or could have died from the attack," said a source.
"After the hippo let go the man and fled, and the guide quickly called for help and other operators and medical personnel responded swiftly. The tourist was quickly evacuated in a helicopter to Johannesburg in South Africa for special treatment."
A statement from the company, Shearwater Adventures, reads:
"Please be advised that we had a canoeing incident on the river yesterday where one of our canoes was attacked by a hippo. The canoe and one of the clients was bitten by a hippo. It got him low on the leg close to the ankle. The injury needed the client to be evacuated. All processes necessary were followed and the client was evacuated to Johannesburg."
Efforts to get an official comment from the managing director Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa were fruitless.
Canoeing is one of the more than 50 adventures offered in the resort town and is popular with tourists, especially from South Africa and Europe, because of the awesome eyeball-to-eyeball encounter with one of the biggest of the big five along the river.
Companies like Shearwater Adventures and Wild horizons offer such safaris to the pleasure of tourists.