Hippo kills man in Limpopo
04/12/2008 12:55 - (SA)


Neville Maakana

Tzaneen - A man who was found mangled on the banks of the Limpopo River was killed by a hippo, it was confirmed on Thursday.

The broken body of Christopher Shipalana, 43, was found on the banks of the Letsitele River, outside Mariveni village near Tzaneen last Wednesday morning.

His body was almost cut into two halves and his neck was violently twisted.

"An inquest was conducted and we can confirm that he was killed by a hippo," said Letsitele police spokesperson Constable Vonani Mthombeni on Thursday.

She said there were imprints of hippo feet on the dead man's body and on the ground where he was found.

Limpopo Tourism and Park Board conservations spent seven days in the area, searching for the hippo but without success.

"We don't know if the hippo is still in the area or not. We are urging local people to be very vigilant and to call us when they see the animal," she said.

She also urged villagers who travel to Letsitele in the early hours of the morning to use buses and taxis and not to walk.

Shipalana, an unmarried man, was a labourer at CP Minnaar Transport in Letsitele. He was walking along the river on his way to work when he was attacked.

Members of the community said they have long suspected that there was a hippo in the river.

"We became suspicious when we started to find fences in our community gardens flattened and our crops destroyed," said local subsistence farmer, Renneth Ngobeni.

- African Eye

Sh*t, what is the problem. As I understand it Hippos are very territorial. The night after I got my Hippo on the Sangwa River a villager was killed by a Hippo in the next village up the river and the next day we went and sorted the bastard out. The village was happy for the meat (tough way to get some) and greived the old gentleman.

Sometimes lone hippos will wander from one spot to the other especially when there is droughts and when the rain comes down again looking for a new better home I suppose.