“Must Be Banned”: Terrifying Hippo Attack on Suburban Family in St Lucia Leaves Mzansi Outraged
- A hippopotamus caused a massive stir online after its reaction towards a group of people who tried provoking it
- An eyewitness shared what they had encountered during the attack by the wild animal
- Comments poured in from South African online users who flooded the post with their opinions
Source: Getty Images
A suburban family in St Lucia encountered a terrifying hippo attack near their home, leaving onlookers and netizens stunned.
Hippo attack on suburban family
The rare and shocking incident occurred in a residential neighbourhood and was captured on the camera.
A video posted by NextHunt on Facebook on 2 May 2025 shows a suburban family getting excited to see a hippo. However, the wild animal appeared unbothered by the crowd. Despite warnings from onlookers, the family proceeded to get closer to the hippo.
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The massive animal ran at full speed as it charged at them. An eyewitnesse say the hippo appeared agitated and territorial, reacting aggressively to the group’s presence. One of the women fell down after the hippo's retaliation.
NextHunt explained further in the caption how things went down during the shocking hippo encounter, saying:
"Very lucky people to walk away from this. Despite warnings signs all over town and people warning them, they approached this Hippo on foot. Please! Hippos are extremely dangerous. Never approach them on foot."
The family was left shaken but unharmed and the short clip of the incident surfaced on social media, quickly going viral. Netizens expressed disbelief and concern over how the family behaved towards the hippo and many called them out in the comments.
Watch the video of the hippo's attack:
Mzansi weighed in on the hippo attack
South Africans reacted as they took to the comments section to express their thoughts on the hippo attack.
Ockert Brits said:
"Disappointed in the hippo but theres always a next time."
Lelani Viljoen expressed:
"And tomorrow the hippo is killed, cause it "attacked" people. The reality... Respect nature. We think we are at the top of the food chain, but every now and again, Mother Nature reminds us of the truth."
Veeren Bechoo was not impressed with the faimly's behaviour adding:
"Who are those people name and shame them. They must be banned from the area."
Paul Van Dyk wrote:
"Always think they are funny let the animal be if the Hippo injured or killed them then he would be put down It's a wild animal.What are they thinking."
Elize Venter Pieterse replied:
"Stupidity!! And then when someone gets hurt or dies its the hippos fault."
Source: Getty Images
More hippo articles by Briefly News
- A video on TikTok shows the moment when a hippo lashed out. In the clip, tourists were enjoying a close-up view of the hippo, which lost its temper.
- Residents who live near a reserve park in Cape Town received an unexpected visitor that broke free for a few hours. Netizens joked about the wild animal's escape.
- A video showing a hippo roaming the streets of St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal has gone viral. In a TikTok clip uploaded by @cherish_mendes, the woman was visiting iSimangaliso Wetland Park. She loved the wildlife and incredible lake views and activities. She even said 2024 can be closed now.
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Source: Briefly News
