May 4, 2013

"I was aware that my legs were surrounded by water, but my top half was almost dry."

"I seemed to be trapped in something slimy."
There was a terrible, sulphurous smell, like rotten eggs, and a tremendous pressure against my chest. My arms were trapped but I managed to free one hand and felt around – my palm passed through the wiry bristles of the hippo's snout. It was only then that I realised I was underwater, trapped up to my waist in his mouth....

I remember looking up through 10 feet of water at the green and yellow light playing on the surface, and wondering which of us could hold his breath the longest. Blood rose from my body in clouds, and a sense of resignation overwhelmed me....

29 comments:

Emil Blatz said...

If it's not one thing, it's another.

Ambrose said...

it's the circle, the circle of life.....

Jeff said...

OMG! What happened? Did he die?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

That's the name of the game.

FullMoon said...

Same thing happened to me once.

David said...

Being in the river in a kayak where there are Hippos is courting serious danger. I doubt this man apprises the clients of the danger. Hippos can be just as dangerous on land, especially if you are between the Hippo and the water.

Mark said...

Darwin misses again.

virgil xenophon said...

More people in Africa lose their lives to Hippos than to Crocks..

Chip Ahoy said...

I totally got them back by eating a hedgehog whole. Tonight isn't the first time either.

Because once you go hedgehog you cannot get off them.

William said...

If a lot of people reported an experience like this prior to resuscitation, then I would be far more worried about hell.

Rae said...

"Rogue hippo". He wasn't rogue, you were in his territory.

FleetUSA said...

Seems improbable to survive. I question the story.

Rusty said...

Nature is a bitch.

Sydney said...

A medical school classmate of mine got killed by a hippo when she was doing missionary work in Africa. I remember some of our attendings joking, "Leave it to a medical student to be stupid enough to be killed by a hippo." I don't think it is necessarily stupidity, though. I mean, before you hear about someone who has been attacked by them, don't you think of them the same way as cows?

Illuninati said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MayBee said...

Illuminati- brilliant points.

Illuninati said...

Rae said:
"He wasn't rogue, you were in his territory."

The principle that an animals have a moral claim to territory which is more valid than humans' claim to the same territory seems to be well entrenched in urban Western society where they don't have to actually deal with the consequences.

As an intellectual idea, the moral priority of animal claims to territory over humans is undeveloped since we are also animals. When elephants enter musth, they will go rogue and attack anything in their territory including female elephants, giraffes, or rhinoceroses. Since the elephant in musth attacks other nonhuman animals we have a moral dilimma since they both have a moral right to claim the same territory. When an elephant in must attacks and kills an innocent rhinoceros is it OK to use the term "rogue"? If we side with the rhinoceros, is it now acceptable to call the same elephant "rogue" if it next attacks and kills an innocent human animal who enters its territory or do all other animals outrank humans? Modern moral dilimmas are so difficult!

edutcher said...

I guess the hippo was a Republican.

He didn't want to have to pass it to see what was in it.

Astro said...

I had a blind date like that once, too.

rhhardin said...

Do a don't tread on me flag with a hippo.

Rusty said...

. I mean, before you hear about someone who has been attacked by them, don't you think of them the same way as cows?

No. You should think of them as wild animals that , when threatened, will defend themselves.
Stupid humans.
I blame Disney.

Oso Negro said...

I prefer the statement "He wasn't rogue, you were in his territory unarmed". Really, if you are gonna fuck around with hippos, you best bring a gun with a big number.

Sam L. said...

I've heard that the hippos are the most dangerous beast in Africa. Other than people.

Rae said...

The principle that an animals have a moral claim to territory which is more valid than humans' claim to the same territory seems to be well entrenched in urban Western society where they don't have to actually deal with the consequences.

What is this nonsense about moral claims? This is nature...morality doesn't enter into it.

Illuninati said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Illuninati said...

Rae said:
"What is this nonsense about moral claims? This is nature...morality doesn't enter into it."

If that is correct, is it now OK for us to call the hippo rogue?

Rusty said...

Who's idea was it to use a kayak in the same water that the Hippos use.

jeff said...

"If that is correct, is it now OK for us to call the hippo rogue?"

Way to demolish that straw hippo. Only one calling it rogue was the dumbass not paying attention to it. Everyone else pretty much agrees that Hippos are far more dangerous than they are give credit for. And the only one's that assign a moral right to territory to animals generally live in places like Boulder and spots in California. They also occasionally get eaten too.

deborah said...

I hate it when that happens.