A two-year-old boy has reportedly survived a hippopotamus attack in southwestern Uganda.
According to a BBC report on Saturday (December 17), the incident occurred on December 4 on the shores of Lake Edward in the country.
Local police said a hippopotamus attacked and "swallowed half" of the child while he was playing on the banks of Lake Iga Paul. A local man later rescued the child from the hippopotamus.
However, Ugandan wildlife authorities denied this account, saying the hippopotamus attacked the child but did not swallow it.
After being rescued, the child was taken to a local hospital, police said. He was later transferred to Boera Hospital and given a rabies vaccine as a precaution.
Police said this was the first time a hippopotamus had attacked a person in Lake Edward, but it is estimated that around 500 people die in hippopotamus attacks in Africa every year.
The largest land mammal, the hippopotamus, can weigh up to 1,500 kilograms. Despite their size, they can run at a maximum speed of 32 kilometers per hour. Although they are herbivores, hippos can become quite aggressive when disturbed or threatened.
