Chennai, October 8: A female hippopotamus at Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur, Tamil Nadu, attacked a zookeeper on Friday morning when he entered the enclosure to clean it. The injured man, Kumar, was bitten on the lower jaw, rib cage and hip but is in stable condition after being rushed to a private hospital. As per the reports, this is the first recorded incident of a hippopotamus attacking a human at the zoo, although a former employee mentioned a similar incident in the 1980s.

According to a report by the Times of India, the zoo director Srinivas R Reddy, said Kumar, the zookeeper, entered the enclosure as usual and attempted to drive the female hippopotamus and her calf into the night shelter when he slipped and fell. The female hippopotamus, weighing around 1 tonne, charged at him and bit him. Elephant Attack in Tamil Nadu: Woman Throws Herself In Front of Jumbo To Save Teen Daughter in Nilgiris, Dies.

Manikanda Prabhu, the assistant director of the zoo, mentioned that as the mother hippopotamus was attacking Kumar, other workers diverted the animal, allowing a few others to rescue him. Kumar was taken to a hospital within 15-20 minutes of the attack. Prabhu added that there is no CCTV camera in the area where the attack happened. Elephant Attack in Tamil Nadu: Wild Tusker Tramples Two Men to Death in Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve.

In another incident, a 64-year-old fisherman sustained grievous injuries on both his legs after he was attacked by a crocodile while fishing in the Kollidam River near Anaikarai in Thanjavur district in June. He was admitted to the government hospital for treatment. The man, identified as Ravi, was engaged in fishing using a net. He was sitting on a floating thermocol sheet with both legs suspended in water when a crocodile approached and bit both his legs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2023 07:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).