Tragedy as farmer who trusted pet hippo ‘together with his coronary heart’ paid the last word value
Marius Els was devoted to his pet hippo Humphrey – who he had raised from a baby – but in a horrifying attack the 1.2 tonne beast turned on him and killed him in South Africa
Humphrey the hippo was raised ‘like a son’ by farmer Marius Els from South Africa, who had taken him in when he was just five months old. The dedicated animal-lover even constructed a massive lake on his farm for Humphrey to swim in his natural habitat.
Humphrey was saved from a flood as a baby and when he grew too large for his rescuers, Marius offered him a home. For years, Humphrey was a cherished part of the family, enjoying life on the 400-acre farm in the Free State Province.
Marius trained him to swim with humans, an activity Humphrey seemed to enjoy. He would feed Humphrey and even assist him in brushing his teeth.
The ex-Army Major stated: “Humphrey’s like a son to me, he’s just like a human. There’s a relationship between me and Humphrey and that’s what some people don’t understand.
“They think you can only have a relationship with dogs, cats and domestic animals. But I have a relationship with the most dangerous animal in Africa,” reports the Mirror.
Marius felt so safe around his pet that he was even photographed riding on the back of the 1.2 tonne hippo. However, the farmer always maintained that he understood the risks of keeping such a dangerous creature as a pet – hippos are among the deadliest animals in the world.
These seemingly clumsy beasts cause 500 human deaths annually, making them the world’s deadliest land mammal. Despite their awkward appearance, hippos possess extremely sharp teeth and are aggressive creatures.
It’s been revealed that hippos are thought to kill more individuals than lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos and buffalos combined. Before Humphrey, the hippo shockingly turned on his owner, signs of aggression were reportedly rife.
Maurice’s wife, Louise, even warned her hubby about the unpredictable beast.
READ MORE: Mum, 26 collapsed and died after ‘barbaric’ BBL as staff tried to feed her cucumber
In early 2011, according to reports in South Africa, a 52-year-old man and his grandson were canoeing on the river that passed through Maurice’s farm.
Humphrey spotted them and is believed to have tried to chase them away. The pair had to spend two hours trapped up a tree before Maurice arrived to tempt his ‘pet’ away with an apple.
Maurice boasted: “I call him, and he immediately responds to come and play with me. I feed him apples. He opens his mouth. Big jaws, and teeth like this.
“It’s a little bit dangerous, but I trust him with my heart that he will not harm anybody.
“I can swim with him. I go in the water. He allows me to get on his back, and I ride him like a horse. He swims with me.”
And Maurice’s business partner claims Humphrey killed his calves.
Not only that but the hippo reportedly also regularly broke out of his enclosure and wandered to the local golf club where he would chase those playing on the greens.
READ MORE: Nurse sees ‘7ft figure’ at patient’s bed –she was terrified when she realised what it was
Maurice always insisted the runaway hippo could always be coaxed back to the farm but those who knew him and Humphrey weren’t convinced.
A local neighbour even said they tried to warn him but he wouldn’t listen.
Then, in November 2011, Humphrey turned completely on the man who viewed him as a son.
He bit Maurice to death, with the farmer discovered completely submerged in the river where Humphrey had been rescued six years earlier.
He had suffered horrific bite marks and terrible injuries.
Paramedics were called but by the time they arrived Maurice was dead and nothing could be done to save him.
After the story recently resurfaced on YouTube amassing over 1.2m views, many rushed to have their say.
One wrote: “You can form bonds with animals just like you can with other humans. That doesn’t mean they won’t ever turn on you!”
Another added: “People need to stop watching Disney. These animals don’t need us don’t want us don’t like us and sure as hell are not our friends. Leave them in the wild and respect them.”
While one said: “Watching how Els treated this hippo, I couldn’t see much respect being shown. Riding on the back of a wild hippo isn’t a very advisable thing to do. In the mind of Els, it was a domestic pet, but everyone around him saw it for what it was. A dangerous wild animal. Els thought there was a mutual bond between them but there wasn’t.”
For the latest news stories from Daily Star sign up for our newsletter.
