 |
Hippo takes a dip in lodge's pool
October 11, 1997
Web posted at: 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT)CROCODILE VALLEY, South Africa (CNN) -- Residents at a South African game lodge awoke Thursday morning to find a surprise visitor splashing and snorting in the swimming pool.
Sometime during the night, a young male hippo had taken up residence, apparently looking for protection from rival bulls in the vicinity. The hippo had been sniffing around the lodge in recent weeks.
"We've had him for about three weeks now. He was wandering around the camp at night, just drinking water from the pool, and he was eating grass. But he's not very aggressive," says Susan Greyling, an employee of the Lowhills Game Lodge in Crocodile Valley.
A hippo takes an unathorized dip in a South African swimming pool
910/23 sec. QuickTime movie
Even though this particular bull might have been mild mannered, hippos are generally feared and treated with respect. They are responsible for more deaths every year than crocodiles.
The good news for swimmers at the lodge was that, as the African sun dipped below the horizon, the hippo simply walked up the stairs of the pool and disappeared into the night.
Reuters contributed to this report.
|
Sound off on our message boards
You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.