During what was supposed to be a routine elephant check-up early on Saturday morning, Shaun Phillips had a run-in with a hippo on the Elephant Whispers property near Hazyview.
Phillips is the stable master of Elephant Whispers, a haven for rescued elephants. He has been working there for about 10 years.
André Kotze, manager of the haven, said as the property is next to the Sabie River, encounters with hippos are not uncommon.
According to Kotze, security staff heard Phillips in distress and found him with a hippo bite to his left leg. An ambulance was called to the scene and Phillips was taken to Rob Ferreira Hospital.
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Initially, it was thought that, due to the severity of the injury, Phillips would lose his leg, but astounding work from the hospital staff proved otherwise.
“Casualties at Rob was amazing. I cannot stress enough the great job they did,” said Kotze. He praised all the staff, from nurses right up to the doctor, for the magnificent work they did.
“Shaun is very lucky to have survived.”
On Saturday morning it all happened, and on Monday morning he was sitting up in his hospital bed, in as good a state of health as one could expect after clashing with a hippo.
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“With Covid-19 we are unable to see him, but he doing well and is very happy to still have both his feet.”
