The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
A tourist from the United States yesterday sustained serious injuries following a hippopotamus attack while canoeing along the Zambezi River in Victoria Falls.
The incident occurred around 10am on the Upper Zambezi near a fishing site.
Mrs Christine Yaldor (37) was with her husband, Mr Ryan Yaldor when the hippo attacked their lightweight canoe from below.
Mrs Yaldor was bitten on the leg and above the knee, and also sustained a fracture. She was immediately rushed to Health Bridge Medical Centre in Victoria Falls.
The incident comes a few weeks after two Germans were separately attacked by elephants. An unnamed German man in his 50s was attacked by an elephant in Victoria Falls and sustained injuries; while a woman from the same country was trampled to death by an elephant at Mana Pools National Park while trying to take a “selfie”.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority public relations manager Mr Tinashe Farawo urged tourists to take all cautionary measures when in the wild.
“We have and will always warn tourists on the dangers posed by wild animals. There are a lot of tourists visiting Zimbabwe to see animals as we approach the festive season and the animals tend to get irritated by the large volumes of people,” he said.
Mr Farawo said authorities were concerned with frequent incidences of human-wildlife conflicts.
Last year, 34 people were fatally attacked by wild animals throughout the country.
Of these, 21 involved crocodiles, eight involved elephants and two involved lions.
The other cases involved other wild animals.
