Hippo swallows 2-year-old whole, then spits him out alive
Luke Gentile
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A hungry, hungry hippo is going viral after it swallowed a 2-year-old boy whole, then spit him up alive.
The incident occurred in the western Kasese District of Uganda while the young boy was playing outside his home, according to a report citing local police.
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A man saw the attack and immediately jumped into action, the report noted.
Identified as Chrispas Bagonza, he began throwing stones at the hippo, police said.
Eventually, the rocks startled the hippo to the point where it regurgitated the boy alive and fled into the nearby Lake Edward.
“This is the first such kind of incident where a hippo strayed out of the Lake Edward and attacked a young child,” the Uganda Police Force said.
“We want to remind all residents of Katwe Kabatoro Town Council, which is located within Queen Elizabeth National Park, to remain vigilant and always alert [park] rangers about animals that have strayed into their neighborhoods.”
After he was freed from the belly of the beast, the child was rushed to a local hospital.
The boy received treatment for minor injuries, and he was vaccinated for rabies, the report noted.
He has since been returned to his parents.
Hippos weigh between 2,800 to 7,000 pounds, and they kill roughly 500 people a year.
“Their bite strength … is around three times greater than that of a lion,” Lochran Traill, an ecologist and conservation scientist, said.
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“That is why they are so dangerous — they cause substantial trauma to the human body through crushing force, whether this be through biting or by trampling.”