Hippos shot after killing SA 'border jumper'

Two hippopotamuses, which killed a suspected border jumper trying to illegally cross from Zimbabwe into SA along the Limpopo River, have been shot dead.

The victim, who has not been identified, died after being admitted to the Beitbridge District Hospital, reported the Chronicle in Zimbabwe.

The municipality of Beitbridge confirmed that the animals had been shot.

The incident, which occurred last week, came barely four months after a member of the Zimbabwe National Army, Pelious Moyo, was killed by the semi-aquatic mammals while on border patrol on the banks of the Limpopo River.

The latest incident brings to four the number of people killed by hippopotamuses in the Beitbridge area since the beginning of the year.

In another incident in August, a group of “border jumpers” were attacked by a hippopotamus on their way to SA, according to Zimbabwe News Network

That attack left a woman, aged 20, dead and her three-year-old son seriously injured.

Zimbabwean officials warned members of the public against using undesignated crossing points when leaving the country.