More than a month has passed since the last Predator Watch column. I could probably write one every day if I decided to report on every bear encounter or rabid animal attack, but I try to stick to the most bizarre, dramatic, or terrifying stories. One of the most dangerous animals in Africa pursuing a group of tourists on a boat certainly fits the bill.
Oznur Bell, who captured the incident on her phone, called it "one of the most terrifying moments I’ve ever experienced." After watching the video, the only moments in my own life that I can think of that could rival it for sheer terror involve danger to or worry about my kids. That box was checked for Bell, who was on the boat with her three children.
The tourists first spotted an elephant as their guides navigated the boat along a waterway in Botswana, prompting Oznur to take out her phone. That decision would prove fortunate, as one of the guides then slowed the boat after noticing the male hippo and not wanting to disturb it. He wasn't successful.
Oznur told NBC News what the guide said next: “Hold on — we need to speed up now before he decides to come after us.”
She continued her account, “The moment we accelerated, we looked back and realized the hippo was chasing us.”
Here's what the chase looked like from Oznur's perspective:
“You can actually see the smiles on the guides’ faces, not because it was funny, but because it was a smile of pure relief,” Oznur said about the moment they realized the danger had passed. “For a few moments, every single person in the boat was genuinely worried.”
Surely they'd be worried if they'd Googled "hippo attacks" before their safari and saw the widely cited estimate that hippos kill up to 500 people per year. That number is disputed; A-Z Animals cites a Zambian study that showed hippos killed only 65 people between 2002 and 2008. No matter what the true number is, the website confirms just how dangerous hippos are, noting that the likelihood of fatality is extremely high when they attack and that even if a person survives, amputation and/or permanent disability is common.
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Although hippos are herbivores and do not hunt humans, they are territorial, which is why the tour guide did not want to disturb the one that ultimately gave chase. A-Z Animals describes what could have happened had the encounter in Botswana taken a more dangerous turn: "Hippos often attack small boats and canoes. Since hippos are submerged, they can be incredibly difficult to spot from the surface. If a human floats by while fishing, it’s easy to miss the massive animal at rest. Suddenly, the hippo will launch itself at the boat, usually capsizing it. Once a human is in the water, there is little they can do to stop an attack."
Just last year, in fact, 11 people went missing, including little girls and a baby, after a hippo capsized a boat in Ivory Coast. CBS News reported that "the hippopotamus tipped the narrow, canoe-like boat over ... as it was motoring along the Sassandra River near the town of Buyo." Three people survived, but I can't find any reports that any of the missing people were rescued. I'd love to be shown otherwise in the comments if any reader has more information.
A horrible story from 2024 reminds us just how formidable these animals are, with adult hippos able to run more than 20 mph despite typically weighing over 3,000 pounds. Lisa and Craig Manders, a couple from New Jersey, traveled to Zambia for a safari organized by a Connecticut company, African Portfolio. On a “bush walk” with guides, they encountered a hippo resting in the water near a riverbank. After lifting its head, it charged out of the water and attacked Lisa, 70, who ultimately died.
That's the sanitized version of what happened.
In the suit Craig filed against African Portfolio for negligence over its failure to keep Lisa safe, the horrific manner in which she died is described. NBC News reports:
"Although Lisa Manders attempted to flee, she was unable to escape and the hippopotamus violently attacked her, grabbing her by its mouth, lifting her off the ground, shaking her entire body, and crushing her head and body with its bite,” the suit says. Lisa Manders suffered “catastrophic injuries” and died shortly after, according to the lawsuit, which noted that her husband witnessed the attack.
Oznur's words about her brush with danger in Botswana hit harder after reading about the Manders' nightmare: “I feel incredibly lucky that I happened to be filming because otherwise this extraordinary encounter would have lived only in our memories.” Oznur and the others have the luxury of looking back on their brush with death as a terrifying memory. Craig Manders has only memories of his wife.
