The story has gone viral in recent weeks, but the origin is over 10 years old. Just in 2005 a South African farmer “adopted” a hippopotamus, which he did not hesitate to define as his “son”.
Marius Els He lived on a large ranch of over 160 hectares and, with the help of his neighbors, built a kind of artificial lake for the animal so that it could dive and thus live in peace.
In that place, north-west of South Africa, 20 other animal species already lived, including some giraffes. However, his love for his new friend was different than the rest of the members of this private zoo.
The hippopotamus calf was christened Humphrey and given special treatment, to the point of having its own artificial lake. She els wanted to make him feel at home. However, she wasn’t and it would be a matter of time before that became apparent.
Marius Els, then 35 years old, was unable to analyze the natural imbalance that his actions had, or their relationship with those of the animal kingdom. The young man who adopted a hippo later opened up about it.
“They think you can only have a relationship with dogs, cats and pets, but I have a relationship with the most dangerous animal in Africa”, in relation to his new friend who has grown, by leaps and bounds, as the months have gone by.
In January 2011, a happy Marius Els was photographed with his friend Humphrey. He was riding the giant animal. It had been 6 years since he was adopted and he rode it, with a smooth ride.
“If he decides to throw me away, he throws me like a horse. My friends don’t even go near him,” she told an interviewer who came to his property to check out the story of the man who adopted a hippo. Els was thrilled to reveal them.
“Humphrey is like a son to me, he’s like a human being. There’s a relationship between Humphrey and I and that’s what some people don’t understand,” the former South African army major, who has a wife, said at the time.
However, the fact that people did not understand him or that those close to him warned him of the danger of said coexistence, presented convincing reasons – literally – given that the animal had, at 6 years old, 1,200 kilos.
On one occasion, a man and his 7-year-old nephew who were in a canoe had to climb a tree in an emergency. Humphrey lunged at them. Els came to the rescue with an apple, assuring that the animal was hungry.
The warning signal, from the instinct of the huge specimen, was clear. However, her keeper didn’t understand her.
It’s been about 10 months since Els rode her hippo Humphrey to the photograph.
On a Saturday morning in November, tragedy struck. Humphrey lunged at the man who considered him his son and bit him repeatedly.
Marius Els had no chance to escape. His body was found several hours later in the man-made lagoon he had built for Humphrey.
“Doctors went to the scene and found that the man had been bitten several times by the animal. and that it had also been submerged in the river for an unknown period,” said Jeffrey Wicks, a spokesman for the private ambulance services that responded to the scene.
The story of the man who adopted a hippopotamus boiled down to a deadly attack that once again summoned the British press. But this time to talk about the aftermath of that estranged relationship.
Source: El Día newspaper (Chile) and Daily Mail.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.