A rogue hippopotamus swallowed a two-year-old boy alive and then spat him back out, in a bizarre news from Uganda.
The toddler was playing alone near Lake Edward around his house in Katwe Kabatoro on Sunday when the hippo grabbed him and proceeded to try and gulp him down, Capital FM Uganda reported.
Before the animal could further, a quick-thinking bystander started chucking rocks at the hippo making the animal vomit the boy, swallowed half at this point, back out.
The child was rushed to a hospital for treatment in the nearby town of Bwera in Congo, and the hippo disappeared into the lake, reports say. Photos show the child suffered injuries on his hand.
The child, identified as Iga Paul, has been discharged with a rabies vaccine.
News outlets praised the bystander, Chrispas Bagonza, for thinking fast and helping save the infant’s life.
“[Bagonza] stoned the hippo and scared it, causing it to release the victim from its mouth,” Ugandan Police praised the man in a press release.
“It took the bravery of one Chrispas Bagonza, who was nearby, to save the victim.”
Ugandan police also added this was the first incident where a hippo strayed out of Lake Edward and attacked a child.
Although herbivores, hippopotamuses are known to kill around 500 people a year in Africa, a strikingly high number as compared to other animals.
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