Aggro hippo chomps rubber duck in Richards Bay
Richards Bay man whose property seems to have become a target for a local hippo.
Once bitten, twice bitten.
That’s the story for an unfortunate Richards Bay man whose property seems to have become a target for a local hippo.
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Joop Adam, who resides with his family at the Waterways Estate on the Mzingazi canal opposite the Zululand
Yacht Club, had the misfortune of watching the creature bite into his boat – a rubber duck that luckily survived the attack with minor damage.
The incident took place at around 8pm on Thursday and the hippo returned to the scene of the crime again on
Friday morning to inspect his handiwork.
‘I was lucky that this time the motor did not go under the water before I saved it; on the previous occasion the rubber duck was irreparably destroyed,’ said Joop.
‘Last time the rubber duck did not survive several bites and the motor went under the water but I was able to clean and salvage it.’
It is presumed that the rubber duck might have been mistaken for a challenger to his right to be ‘King of the Canal’.
But it has also been suggested that the nearsighted hippo might have mistaken the large, pink-coloured boat for another of his species and was looking for a possible amorous encounter – which would explain him acting out his frustration and giving it a mouthful!
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