CAPE TOWN - A group of tourists got more than what they bargained for during a sightseeing trip at the weekend down Lake Victoria, Kenya, when an angry hippo started to chase them.
Footage posted on YouTube channel SWNS shows hair-raising scenes of Geography teacher Dicken Muchena and his friends being chased by the hippo which was apparently not impressed by the visitors being that close.
According to British newspaper The Daily Mirror, hippos can measure up to five meters, weigh up to 1 500kg and are considered one of the world’s deadliest land mammals.
“We knew that the area was a harbour for hippos, and we wanted to set out to try and get some photos of them,” the paper quoted Muchena as saying.
“Knowing full well that they are killer animals, we gave them a wide path and avoided getting too close. There were at least six hippos in that area, and many others on various other parts of the lake.”
Muchena added that the agitated hippo appeared out of nowhere and charged at him and his companions as they were leaving.
According to The Daily Mail, this marks the second time in the last six months that an animal has chased Muchena while on safari.
In December, an angry giraffe charged at him while on a Jeep at the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya.
A video clip on The Daily Mail’s YouTube channel shows a large giraffe chasing the vehicle, with the driver narrowly managing to escape.
Muchena said he and the other tourists were admiring the giraffe from a distance and that it might have mistaken them for an enemy.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa