It’s another case of an animal that should be in the wild turning on its owner resulting in a death that could have been avoided.
When will people figure out that keeping a wild beast in captivity is not a good idea. Personally I don’t think you can ever completely tame these animals whether it’s a hippo, a tiger or a giant python. A tiger always has somewhere deep within its brain a carnivorous predatory nature. Just ask Las Vegas legends Siegfried and Roy. Wild animals as non-threatening as raccoons can cause harm. Heck, even man’s best friend, canines, can turn on their masters.
A pet hippopotamus mauled its owner to death in South Africa. You know a hippo can be dangerous if it can win a battle with a crocodile. Humphrey the hippo was tabbed as the cause of death after his owner of six years was found with multiple bite wounds. Marius Els had kept Humphrey on his farm for nearly six years since finding the then approximately five-month-old hippo after flooding in the area.
Els admits in the video below that keeping and interacting with the 2,600-pound behemoth is dangerous, but that doesn’t stop him from riding on Humphrey’s back as the hippo goes for a swim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQFkgGW9jP4