A South African farmer has been gouged to death by his pet hippopotamus that repeatedly bit him in a vicious attack.
The farmer, Marius Els, raised the hippo from the age of five months and named him Humphrey. Mr Els once described his pet as being more "like a son".
Earlier this year Mr Els was pictured happily riding on the back of the 1,200kg bull.
"There's a relationship between me and Humphrey and that's what some people don't understand," said Mr Els, according to the Daily Mail.
The threat posed by the hippo was demonstrated in March this year when he tried to attack two canoeists.
A 52-year-old man and his seven-year-old grandson were making their way down the Vaal river when they were forced to abandon their canoe and climb a tree to escape from Humphrey.
Mr Els was eventually able to lure the hippo away with an apple. He believed Humphrey only approached the pair because he was hungry – not a relaxing explanation for the canoeists.
Humphrey the hippo was six-years-old when he attacked Mr Els, 41, over the weekend.
3 News
source: newshub archive
