(Image Source: Daily Mail)
BY AMY WILLMOTT
ANCHOR EMILY SPAIN
A bizarre relationship ends tragically. A South African farmer has been found dead after being mauled by his beloved pet hippo. Paramedics found the man’s mutilated body in the river on his 400 acre farm in rural South Africa.
Marius Els christened the 6-year-old hippo ‘Humphrey’, and had raised him since he was 5 months old. After adopting the hippo, Els built Humphrey his own lake on the farm where he kept 20 other exotic species, including a giraffe and rhino. Videos of Els feeding Humphrey became a YouTube sensation, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.
“I call him and he immediately responds. He come and play with me. I feed him apples, he opens his mouth. Big jaws with his teeth like this. I feed him apples. Its a little bit dangerous but you get used to it and I trust him with my heart that he will not do or harm anybody.”
The farmer said he and the 1.2 ton animal had a special relationship, even going so far as to call Humphrey his “son.” But News24 reports that Els had been repeatedly warned by authorities that Humphrey was more a danger than a gentle giant.
“In August, the hippo was in the news when it was blamed for killing calves belonging to Els's business partner. It also regularly broke out of its enclosure and chased golfers at the Orkney golf club.”
And it wasn’t just authorities that were questioning the Hippo’s aggressiveness, IBT reports.
“Els was reportedly warned by friends on numerous occasions that an attack was inevitable, but all warnings were ignored.”
No word yet on what will happen with the hippo.
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