CNN
—
Paul Templer was experiencing life to the fullest.
At 28, he was leading tours in his home country of Zimbabwe, specializing in photographic safaris.
After several years away, including service in the British army, he returned to Africa’s wild areas and rekindled his love for it. “The wildlife, flora, fauna, the vastness – everything about it felt right. I was back home.”
Templer mentioned that Zimbabwe’s guiding certification was demanding, instilling a sense of pride among successful guides. He enjoyed introducing visitors to the region’s stunning wildlife, notably the hippos, known for their territorial behavior.
“It was paradise,” he recounted to CNN Travel. “Life was great – until one fateful day turned everything upside down.”
A perfect day for a river adventure
On March 9, 1996, a Saturday, Templer found out that a close friend scheduled to lead a canoe safari on the Zambezi River had contracted malaria. He volunteered to take his friend’s spot. “That stretch of river was my favorite. I knew that area like the back of my hand.”
The group consisted of six safari guests (four from an Air France crew and a couple from Germany), along with three trainee guides and Templer himself. They maneuvered three canoes – with clients in the front two canoes and a guide at the back, and one apprentice was in a one-person safety kayak.
And so they drifted along the renowned Zambezi. “Everything was unfolding as planned. Everyone was enjoying themselves.”
Potential trouble looms
Eventually, they spotted a group of around a dozen hippos. This wasn’t unusual for the Zambezi, the fourth-longest river in Africa. They initially felt safe as they maintained a respectful distance. However, “as we approached, I attempted to maneuver the canoe away. … The plan was to paddle safely around the hippos.”
Templer’s canoe led the pack, with the other two canoes and the kayak trailing behind. He entered a narrow channel to wait for the others. But the third canoe lagged behind and veered off course, leaving Templer puzzled about the cause.
“Suddenly, there was a massive thud. I witnessed the canoe, the rear, launched skyward. Evans, the guide in the back, was thrown from the canoe.” The tourists somehow remained in the canoe.
“Evans ended up in the water, and the current was pulling him towards a mother hippo and her calf, only about 150 meters [490 feet] away. … I realized I had to rescue him immediately. I couldn’t afford to drop my clients off first.” He shouted to Ben, one of the other guides, to help the tourists who were in the canoe that met disaster.
Ben managed to guide the clients to safety on a rock in the river, where hippos couldn’t reach them.
Trying for a rescue
Meanwhile, Templer swiftly redirected his canoe toward Evans. The strategy was to maneuver alongside him and help him into Templer’s canoe.
“As I paddled towards him … I noticed a wave moving towards me. It reminded me of old war movies depicting torpedoes approaching ships. I realized it was either a hippo or a very large crocodile heading my way,” he recounted.
“But I understood that if I splashed the paddle on the surface … it produces a loud noise. The underwater rumble would usually scare off the creatures,” he explained. “So I clapped the water, and just as expected, the bow wave dissipated.”
He was nearing Evans, but they were also closing in on the mother and calf.
“I leaned over – it felt like a scene from a movie – Evans was reaching up. … Our fingertips nearly met. And then the water erupted between us. It happened so suddenly, I didn’t see anything.”
What occurred next was a surreal and terrifying experience.
“Suddenly, my world turned dark and eerily silent.” Templer mentioned it took him a moment to understand what was happening.
“From the waist down, I perceived the river water. I realized I was wet from the river. From my waist up, the feeling was different. I felt warm, not wet like the river, but not entirely dry either. There was immense pressure on my lower back. Attempts to move were futile.”
“I figured out I was deep inside a hippo’s mouth.”
Hippos: Massive, territorial and perilous
There’s a compelling reason why a full-grown hippopotamus can accommodate a significant portion of an adult human in its mouth. Hippos can reach lengths of up to 16.5 feet (5 meters), heights of 5.2 feet (1.6 meters), and weights of up to 4.5 tons (4 metric tonnes), as reported by National Geographic.
They possess enormous mouths and can open their powerful jaws to a 150-degree angle.
However, their teeth can be the most intimidating aspect of all. While their molars are utilized for plant consumption, their sharp canines, which can extend up to 20 inches (51 centimeters), are used for defense and combat. The power of their bite is nearly three times stronger than that of a lion. A hippo’s bite can potentially slice a human in half.
They are primarily distributed throughout various regions of sub-Saharan Africa, especially in East and Southern Africa, frequenting rivers and other aquatic habitats. (Moreover, they are an invasive species in Colombia due to escapes from Pablo Escobar’s zoo).
Hippos are exceedingly territorial and might aggressively confront any intruding animal, including hyenas, lions, and crocodiles.
The relationship between hippos and humans
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They also cause fatalities. Reports suggest around 500 incidents annually, but establishing a precise figure remains challenging as many occurrences and deaths take place in remote areas and go unrecorded.
“Most frequently asked when I mention my studies on hippos is: ‘Is it true that hippos kill more individuals than any other animal?’” remarked Rebecca Lewison, conservation ecologist and associate professor at San Diego State University, in an email interview with CNN Travel.
“I am uncertain where this idea originated, but there is no authoritative data supporting it. Many are caught off guard by hippos’ lethal potential. They appear sluggish and primarily stay in water. While some interactions end without injury, participants (both human and hippos) often end up worst off from such encounters.”
Dr. Philip Muruthi, chief scientist and vice president of species conservation and science at the African Wildlife Foundation, stated they don’t have a trustworthy source on the number of incidents or casualties either.
While more data is needed, one study indicated that the likelihood of being killed by a hippo is between 29% to 87% – a far higher rate than being attacked by a grizzly bear at 4.8%, shark at 22.7%, or crocodile at 25%.
‘He spat me out’
Those were not great odds for Templer’s survival.
“I suspect I was lodged so deeply in its throat that it felt uncomfortable, leading it to expel me. I shot to the surface, gasping for air, and suddenly found myself face to face with Evans, the guide I had been trying to save. I exclaimed, ‘We have to get out of here!’”
However, Evans was in grave danger. Templer began to swim back to him “and I was nearing you in a classic rescue position when – WHAM! – I was struck from beneath. Once again, I found myself up to my waist inside the hippo’s throat. This time my legs were trapped, but my hands were free.”
He tried to access his firearm, but the violent thrashing made it impossible to seize it. The hippo – which turned out to be an older, aggressive male – ejected Templer for a second time.
“This time when I surfaced and looked around, there was no sign of Evans.” Templer assumed Evans was out of danger, and he attempted to escape as well.
“I was making good progress swimming and as I came up for a stroke and glanced under my arm – this image will remain imprinted in my memory – a hippo was charging directly towards me with its mouth wide open just before it made contact.”
At that moment, Templer was sideways in the hippo’s mouth, his legs dangling from one side while his shoulders and head were on the other.
Unrestrained anger
“Then the hippo just goes wild. … When hippos engage in combat, their strategy is to tear apart and obliterate whatever they are targeting,” Templer stated.
“For me, luckily, everything unfolded in slow motion. As he submerged, I held my breath. When he surfaced, I took a deep breath while I tried to hang on to the tusks that were piercing me,” in a desperate bid to avoid being ripped apart.
Templer recounted that a client observing the chaos later likened it to “a vicious dog attempting to shred a rag doll.”
He estimated that the entire ordeal lasted about three and a half minutes.
During this, one of the trainee guides, Mack, in the safety kayak, displayed remarkable bravery, risking his life to save mine – he steered his kayak just inches from my face. Templer managed to grab onto a handle on the kayak and “Mack pulled me to the comparative safety of a rock.”
The expedition was still facing considerable chaos, however.
Who is targeted and why
Residents near hippo habitats are more likely to be attacked than tourists, according to Lewison.
“Most attacks occur in water, but since hippos often raid crops, confrontations also happen with individuals defending their fields. Tourists might be involved, but the majority of attacks involve local inhabitants,” Lewison explained.
The rapid human encroachment from Africa’s growing population exacerbates the situation, increasing the likelihood of dangerous encounters, she noted.
Despite the incidents that turn sour, sub-Saharan Africa relies on hippos for ecological balance.
“Hippos serve as crucial ecological engineers within the freshwater ecosystems they occupy, largely through nutrient recycling from their waste (they consume significant quantities of vegetation),” Muruthi stated.
“Hippos lash out not to devour humans but to chase them away,” said Lewison. “I don’t consider hippos inherently aggressive; however, they attack when threatened.”
Stranded on a rock with no option
Back on that rock in the Zambezi, Templer asked Mack about Evans’s whereabouts. Mack replied, “He’s gone, man, he’s just gone.”
Templer realized he needed to devise a strategy to get off the rock and reach the riverbank, but “first I had to calm myself.”
He assessed the conditions: One individual missing. The first aid kit, communication device, and firearm all absent. Six terrified tourists, two canoes, and just one paddle available. Plus, his own body was in disarray.
“My left foot was particularly injured; it looked as if someone had attempted to smash a hole through it with a hammer.” He was unable to move his arms. One of his arms from the elbow down was “mangled beyond recognition.”
Blood trickled from his mouth. They discovered his lung was perforated. Mack rolled Templer over and noted a sizable wound in his back, which he covered using Saran Wrap from a snack plate.
Templer decided: regardless of the risks, they had to escape that rock.
He was placed in a canoe. Ben took charge of the paddling. The hippo repeatedly struck the canoe. His feelings shifted from sheer terror to calm during that journey back.
He spoke of “a profound spiritual experience where I felt a deep sense of tranquility and recognized this as my moment of choice. Should I give in, or should I persevere? Should I close my eyes and retreat, or fight to survive?”
