A two-year-old boy in Uganda was swallowed by a rogue hippopotamus, then spat out again after a spectator began pelting the animal with rocks, police say.
The unnamed child was playing alone near his lakeside home in the town of Katwe Kabatoru on Sunday when a hungry hippopotamus grabbed him with its enormous jaws. Capital FM Uganda mentioned.
Before the creature could swallow it, a quick-thinking bystander, Crispas Bagonza, began throwing rocks at the animal — causing the boy to “vomit” back up, according to the outlet, which first reported the story.
The report was taken to hospital for treatment in the neighboring town of Bwera, Congo, and the hippopotamus was returned to the lake.
“[Bagonza] I stoned the hippopotamus and frightened it, causing it to release the victim from its mouth,” Ugandan police later said. UK Telegraph.
“It took the courage of one Crispas Bagonza, who was nearby, to save the victim.”
It is estimated that hippos kill at least 500 people annually In Africa, they chomp down on their victims with fangs that can grow up to a foot.
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