Hefty Hippo Stuck in Swimming Pool
A hippo that was chased away from his herd at a South African game reserve has found a refreshing place to relax: the lodge’s swimming pool. There’s just one problem – now he’s stuck.
The young hippopotamus plunged into the pool on Tuesday at the Monate Conservation Lodge north of Johannesburg. The 8ft-deep pool is big enough for him to swim, but there are no steps and “there’s no way he can come out,” says lodge manager Ruby Ferreira.
A game capture team is now prepared for Operation: Hippo Extraction, and on Friday will sedate the hippo and lift him out of the pool using a crane, said MuIsabel Wentzel of South Africa’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Much of the water has already been drained to make the extraction easier, and a vet will be present.
Wentzel said the 4-year-old hippo’s mother gave birth recently, and more dominant males forced him from the herd.
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