ALONE on a winding footpath, the terrified man heard the rapidly approaching footfall and ominous rustling of bushes and braced himself for the worst.
Drawing in his what he thought was his final breath, he faced the unknown adversary with all the courage he could muster – and almost passed out as a baby hippo burst through the undergrowth.
Mr Ngema watched in astonishment as the new-born chomp, wet with afterbirth but absolutely relieved, rubbed his nose against his ‘mommy’.
And, like Moses of old, found in the bulrushes and rescued to Pharaoh’s palace, the fondling found a guardian angel, who per chance had Frans Mthembu, KZN Ezemvelo District Officer, on his contact list.
‘On Sunday, Mr Ngema crossed the lake from Mzingazi to Mandlazini, where the water table was low,’ Frans explains.
‘As he reached the road, he heard the bushes rustling and saw the baby running towards him.
‘He realised that the calf was in serious danger because of hunters and dogs prowling the area and phoned me while I was on patrol.
‘When I arrived with my colleagues, Mandla Mbonabi and Philile Ngcamu, we found him with the baby, which I estimated was a couple of hours old.
‘We searched for the place where he was born, but could not find it.’
The team parked their vehicle close as they waited for the mom, because a hippo mom with a baby, is deadly dangerous and can trigger some high jumping and zigzag running.
Meanwhile, the little man bonded with his ‘new family’ and tailed them like a duckling, until Ensleni District Conservation Officer, Pumla Zulu, sent rangers as a relief team.
‘They took over from us and waited the whole night for the mother to return, but she never returned.’
The baby was then transported to a place of safety where he is flourishing.
Hip-hip-hooray for Ngema
‘This baby must be named after Mr Ngema, because he saved his life.
‘Mr Ngema’s father is a subsistence leader so he learned about conservation from him.
‘He is a good man and a responsible person.’
While the story has a happy ending, Frans says, it is a rare incident.
‘Hippo mothers hide male calves, because the bulls will kill them.
‘But, they return to feed and bond with the baby.
‘It is the first time in all my years doing conservation, that I see an abandoned baby hippo.
‘Maybe she was a first time mother.’
