“Humphrey the Hippo” was “like a son” to 40-year-old Marius Els, a South African farmer.
Els adopted the dangerous beast when it was found as a calf. He raised it, nurtured it, and regularly went for rides on the good ole Humphrey’s back.
“It’s a little bit dangerous, but I trust him with my heart that he will not harm anybody,” Els recently said in an interview with the Daily Mirror. “I can swim with him. I go in the water. He allows me to get on his back, and I ride him like a horse. He swims with me.”
He added: “He’s like a son to me.”
Sadly, that’s all in the past now due to completely foreseen circumstances that were entirely in Els’ control.
Last Sunday, “Humphrey the Hungry Hippo” bit several holes in his “father’s” head, killing him most gruesomely and permanently.
Homicide investigators are working under the theory that “Humphrey” attacked his owner because he’s a freaking hippo.
“There’s a relationship between me and Humphrey and that’s what some people don’t understand,” Els reportedly said back in June of this year. “They think you can only have a relationship with dogs, cats, and domestic animals. But I have a relationship with the most dangerous animal in Africa.”
Hammer and Nigel will have more on this important story on today’s show from 3 pm-7 pm on WIBC.
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