A two-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after a hippo almost swallowed him while he was playing outside.
Paul Iga was playing just metres away from Lake Edward in the Katwe-Kabatoro district of Uganda on December 4 when he was attacked by the rogue hippo.
The wild hippo reportedly grabbed little Paul with its jaw before starting to swallow.
Luckily, Chrispas Bagonza witnessed the horrific ordeal and was able to throw stones at the hippo to let Paul go.
The plan worked, with the hippo spitting Paul out and swimming away.
Paul was taken to hospital with a hand injury and was also given a vaccine for rabies as a precaution.
“This is the first such kind of incident where a hippo strayed out of Lake Edward and attacked a young child,” Ugandan Police said in a statement.
“It took the bravery of one Chrispas Bagonza, who was nearby, to save the victim after he stoned the hippo and scared it, causing it to release the victim from its mouth.”
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