A British couple’s dream holiday in Zambia turned dangerous when a hippo attacked their canoe on the Kafue River, flipping them into the water.
As reported by <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c869jj5dy4qo">BBC</a>, Cherry and wife Shirley, from Warwickshire, were in the third week of their dream trip when disaster struck on the Kafue River.
Sixty-three-year-old Cherry was dragged underwater and seriously injured before being tossed into the air by the animal.
Quick action by a local hospital helped save his life, as he sustained significant injuries to his leg, abdomen, and shoulder.
Cherry, an experienced canoeist, recalled that he quickly realized he had dislocated his shoulder, leaving him unable to swim to safety.
As he struggled in the water, he was grabbed by the hippo and dragged underwater.
Fearing for his life, Cherry thought, “Oh no, what a way to go… I’m not ready to die,” believing he wouldn’t survive the attack.
He later found himself sitting in shallow water on the bank, but the hippo grabbed him again. He told the BBC:
<blockquote>
We know subsequently from fellow travellers I was grabbed again and thrown through the air like a rag doll but towards the bank which was the godsend.
I remember looking down at my legs thinking “that’s not good”. There was bits of flesh sticking out of my torn shorts and blood over my abdomen.
I was in its jaws and I didn’t see it once – we have eyewitness accounts of that happening – but I was never conscious of that.
</blockquote>
He said he recalled his wife calling for him as “friendly arms” pulled him from the water and placed him on a motorboat back to camp.
Shirley Cherry said she had managed to swim to the riverbank, meaning the hippo went for her husband.
“I saw him surface, then he was thrown in the air,” she said, adding that if the hippo had attacked her, the outcome might have been fatal.
Cherry sustained a 10-inch wound to his abdomen, a thigh injury, and a dislocated shoulder. Hospital staff in Johannesburg indicated that had his wounds been deeper, he might not have survived, noting they had never encountered a hippo attack survivor before.
After seven operations over two weeks, Cherry credited the initial treatment at Mtendere Mission Hospital with saving his life and is now raising funds for the hospital through a Just Giving page.
He said he appreciated the group had been in the hippo’s natural habitat and subsequently had learnt his attacker was a protective female with a calf.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

A British couple on a holiday in Zambia was attacked by a hippo while canoeing on the river. The husband was seriously injured but saved by quick hospital treatment. He had surgery and now wants to raise funds for the hospital. The hippo was a mom protecting her baby. The husband is grateful to be alive and learned a lot from the experience. His wife was not hurt, but it was a scary situation for the couple. They were lucky to survive the attack by the hippo.

British Tourist Recounts Near-Death Experience With Hippo In Zambia

A 74-year-old British tourist fulfilled his dream of seeing a leopard in Zimbabwe but tragically suffered a heart attack and died shortly afterwards, as reported in a Suffolk court.
According to <a href="https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24234643.andrew-slater-inquest-suffolk-coroners-court-ipswich/">The East Anglian Daily Times</a>, the inquest into Andrew Slater’s death concluded at Suffolk Coroners’ Court in Ipswich.
Slater passed away in Victoria Falls on October 27 of last year.
The court learned that Slater, a resident of Southampton, was an avid traveller with extensive safari experience.
Surprisingly, he had never encountered a leopard until that fateful trip.
Slater’s long-held dream came true during his final holiday in Zimbabwe when he captured a photograph of a leopard.
Unfortunately, Slater’s health declined before his holiday concluded. He was admitted to Health Bridge Hospital in Victoria Falls, where his condition worsened until he eventually passed away.
Senior Coroner Nigel Parsley determined that Slater’s passing resulted from natural causes, specifically a heart attack.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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