A two-year-old boy has survived the Jaws of a hippopotamus after the animal attacked the toddler near his home in southwestern Uganda.
The toddler who is said to be named Iga Paul was playing near the shores of Lake Edward when the hippo struck.
The animal grabbed the toddler and “swallowed half of his body”, police said. The boy was saved by the efforts of a local man, Chrispas Bagonza, who fought the hippo off by throwing stones.
Uganda’s wildlife authority has however told the BBC that the report of Paul Iga being swallowed is false, claiming that the boy was attacked and not swallowed.
According to police, after the attack, which took place on 4 December, the toddler was taken to a nearby medical centre where he was treated for his injuries.
He was later transferred to Bwera Hospital, where doctors gave him a precautionary rabies vaccine.
Police said the incident marked the first time a hippo had strayed from the lake and attacked anyone. “This is the first such kind of incident where a hippo strayed out of Lake Edward and attacked a young child,” the police in Uganda is quoted by the Daily Mail.
Hippos may be herbivores but the animals, which can weight up to 1, 500 kg (1. 5 tonnes), kill an estimate of about 500 people a year in Africa.
And officers warned locals that the animals can “see humans as a threat” and said that “any interaction can cause them to act strangely or aggressively”.
Police have told residents of Katwe Kabatoro Town Council which is within the Queen Elizabeth National Park to remain vigilant.
