In the tragically familiar case of “domesticated” exotic animals turning on their owner, Humphrey the hippo has mauled his keeper to death. South African army major and farmer Marius Els, who kept the 2,600 lb. hippo as a pet on his farm, was killed after Humphrey reportedly dragged him into a river after mauling him. Els was found Saturday, bitten many times and then left in the water for an undetermined length of time.
It was an unexpected bout of violence for the pair, as Els treated the hippo “like a son.” He said, “There’s a relationship between me and Humphrey and that’s what some people don’t understand.”
The 40-year-old farmer raised Humphrey from the age of five months, after the young hippo was stranded during a flood. Currently six years old, the hippo lives in a specially-built dam on the farm. Els would often ride on Humphrey’s back and hand-feed him apples, despite the beast’s razor-like teeth. Hippos are notorious for being one of the most dangerous animals in the world, but Humphrey seemed to buck that trend.
Els is survived by his wife, as well as the giraffe and rhino he also kept on his farm.
Source: Time.com
"Els was found Saturday, bitten many times and then left in the water for an undetermined length of time. "
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Hope whoever found him never finds me!
GratefulFan wrote: "Els was found Saturday, bitten many times and then left in the water for an undetermined length of time. "
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Hope whoever found himnever finds me!
I kind of can't believe that a sentence that poorly put together actually appeared on time.com. It was good for a LOL though.
But seriously, on the reasonable presumption that abject terror negatively contributes to the process of dying, what a thoroughly wretched way to go. I can't imagine much more horrifying than being savaged by a wild animal. I wonder if you'd have time for a sense of something like betrayal in a case like this. Anyway, just, yuck. Sad. But hippo != pet. Jeez.
(Newser) – Good thing Fido's not a better shot. A Utah dog unloaded 27 pellets into his owner's butt as the "excited" hound discharged a 12-gauge shotgun in a boat during a duck-hunting trip. The man was hit as he bent down standing in a marshy area of the Great Salt Lake to reposition his decoys, say authorities. "The dog got excited, was jumping around inside the boat, and then it jumped on the gun. It went off, shooting the owner in the buttocks," says the local deputy sheriff. The dog "did something to make the gun discharge. I don't know if the safety device was on. It's not impossible the dog could have taken it off safety."
The owner and a hunting partner called 911 and walked to a road to wait for emergency crews. The wounded hunter was treated at a local hospital and released, reports the Telegraph. There were no treats for the dog.