Killer hippo shot dead

THE hippopotamus that killed a three-year-old boy and injured a 17-year-old schoolgirl in the Okavango River last Friday, was shot dead by officials of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) on Wednesday.

The hippo attacked the duo at Mupini village, 20 kilometres west of Rundu in the Kapako Constituency.
It was the only hippo in the area, and MET officials feared it was likely to launch another attack on the villagers.
The leader of the Mbunza Traditional Authority, Chief Alfons Kaundu applauded the MET officials for taking the initiative to kill the hippo as it would have terrorised and attacked more villagers in the future had it not been killed.
Chief Kaundu said a portion of the carcass would go to the bereaved family of the deceased, while the rest of the hippo meat would be shared amongst villagers.
The Mbunza Traditional Authority leader also advised his subjects to take precautionary measures when going to the river, because crocodiles and hippos are roaming about as water levels of the Okavango River continue to subside.
The 17-year-old victim of the hippo attack, Maria Simon, was first admitted in the Rundu State Hospital after she sustained fractures of both her legs.
She was later transferred to the Windhoek State Hospital, as there are currently no orthopaedic surgeons at the Rundu State Hospital.
Simon told Nampa from her hospital bed on Tuesday that the incident happened after school when she boarded a canoe with six of her relatives to cross the river into Angola, where they were to visit family.
While they were paddling, the hippo came up under the canoe and overturned it.
Simon, who was carrying her three-year-old cousin Steven Simon on her back, was bitten by the hippo and dragged underneath the water.
‘Luckily, the hippo thought that I was dead and it left me. But, I was still underneath the water,’ said Simon, a Grade 8 learner at the Mupini Combined School at that village.
An onlooker on another canoe rescued Simon by dragging her onto the riverbank, but her three-year-old cousin drowned in the river.
The other four people who were in the canoe, escaped unhurt.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism said it would assist to cover the funeral expenses of the deceased boy. – Nampa

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