DAILYMAIL.COM – Lisa Manders, 70, was attacked last year in Zambia on a dream trip with her husband Craig.
The mother-of-three suffered ‘catastrophic injuries’ and died moments after the attack, according to a lawsuit her grieving husband has now filed against African Portfolio, the Connecticut-based company that organized the trip.
‘Had we understood the dangers posed by the hippopotamus, we never would have agreed to be in such close contact while on foot,’ Craig said in a statement.
‘The idea that we were unwittingly exposed to such an extreme danger, a danger made even worse by our tour guides leaving Lisa alone on foot with nothing between her and such a deadly animal, is nothing short of astonishing.’
The guides, according to the lawsuit, ‘knew or should have known that the close presence of the wild hippopotamus to participants in the Bush Walk posed an immediate and extreme danger, due to the known tendencies of hippopotami to be highly unpredictable, territorial, and aggressive in such circumstances.’
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Yet, the guides left the area, one at least of which was armed with a rifle for the protection of the tour group.
‘The idea that we were unwittingly exposed to such an extreme danger, a danger made even worse by our tour guides leaving Lisa alone on foot with nothing between her and such a deadly animal, is nothing short of astonishing,’ Craig said
That was when the hippo suddenly charged out of the water toward Lisa and attacked her.
‘She was unable to escape and the hippopotamus violently attacked her, grabbing her but its mouth, lifting her off the ground, shaking her entire body, and crushing her head and body with its bite … ‘