uMhlathuze Local Municipality has warned the public not to get close to a female hippo and her young calf after they were spotted roaming the John Ross Highway and other roads in Richards Bay.
The City of uMhlathuze posted the warning on its Facebook page on Sunday: “Richards Bay Community is warned of a roaming hippo and its calf in the John Ross Highway (R34) and R619 at the Arboretum and Meerensee intersection.
Residents are warned not to get close to the animal as it is dangerous,” said the City, adding that KZN Wildlife had been made aware.
Speaking to “The Mercury” on Monday, uMhlathuze deputy mayor Christo Botha, said the whereabouts of the hippos had been established.
“They are both in good health and in good condition but we don't want to disclose their exact location otherwise we will have too many people going to look for them. Especially now during the holiday time, we don't want a risky situation where either somebody will get hurt or people may go after the small one to try to kill and poach it,” he said.
Botha said at this point they are unable to identify the sex of the calf.
“The mother is very very protective of it and it’s very dangerous at this point.” He added that the City was overjoyed by the arrival of the calf.
“The mother finds herself currently in a place where she is trying to keep the calf away from the busy areas,” he said.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo said they have seen various social media posts alleging the sighting of the hippo and its calf.
“It however does not surprise us that a hippo might have been seen in the Richards Bay/Empangeni area. Humans have encroached on the animals’ habitat and this leads to animals having nowhere to go but mingle closer ...”
“If the social media reports are to be believed, it’s possible that this hippo moved away from its normal habitat to give birth away from other male hippos,” he said.
According to Mntambo, other male hippos could have possibly killed the calf if its a male calf and as a result “female hippos tend to hide their whereabouts when they give birth”.
He said Ezemvelo had not seen the hippo on the road and advised that hippos graze at night and go back to the water during the day.
“Our suspicion is that this hippo might have gone back to the water by now,” said Mntambo.
Ezemvelo has requested that the public inform their district conservation officer based at Nseleni Game Reserve if the hippos are spotted.
“They must also not attempt to go closer to it as it is very protective of its calf and it may not be able to tell that you come in peace. Stopping cars also causes unnecessary traffic and we appeal to the public not to stop,” said Mntambo.
Last year a Ballito woman, who was on holiday with her family, had to be airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after she was attacked by a hippo in St Lucia during load shedding.
According to a report, the woman and her family were in the swimming pool and after the power went off, she jumped out with her two children and headed back to their accommodation.
“While walking, they encountered a hippo and its baby. The hippo tried to protect the baby and charged at the woman. She was found in a critical condition and had to be airlifted to hospital,” said the report.
Two rangers were killed recently in hippo attacks. One was killed while on patrol at the Mkhuze Game Reserve in KZN last month and the other at the Kruger National Park where he was camping with his wife in August.
The Mercury