A twoyearold boy was half swallowed by a hippopotamus in Uganda, an east African country. According to local police, the child, identified as Iga Paul, was “spatted out” after a local resident saw the scene and managed to startle the animal.
The child was attacked on December 4 in the KatweKataboro community in the southwest of the country while playing near his home on the edge of the Katwe side, according to CNN.
“It took the courage of Chrispas Bagonza, who was nearby, to save the victim after he stoned and scared the hippo, causing the victim to fall out of his mouth,” a spokesman for Uganda Police said in a statement .
The security institution also used the incident to sound the alarm. “Although the hippopotamus has returned to the lake terrified, all residents near wildlife sanctuaries and habitats should know that wildlife is very dangerous. They instinctively see people as a threat and any interaction can cause them to behave in an aggressive way”.
The boy was taken to a nearby clinic with injuries to one hand. After being transferred to Bwera Hospital in western Uganda, Paul was vaccinated against rabies and discharged.