Several users shared a news article earlier this week on Twitter that claimed a hippopotamus had pulled a South African man named Marius Els and devoured him close to a river, six years after he had rescued and adopted the newborn hippo.

Did The Hippopotamus Eat The Man From South Africa Marius Els?

A South African man named Marius Els adopted a baby hippo in 2005 after saving it from a river, according to a news item published on Twitter by Facts on Friday. 6 years later, the hippo dragged him into the same river and “ate” him, breaking their longstanding friendship.

Els’ body was discovered in a river with bite marks from a large animal that he had earlier claimed to be his son. 6 years after saving the hippo from a flood, Els’s death was discovered floating in the river. The hippo outgrew its adoptive family when it was five months old, so Els purchased it and kept it as a pet on his 400-acre property.

Els was also captured on camera standing on the 5-year-old hippo. He had said, “To me, Humphrey’s like a son; he’s just like a human.” Some people don’t realize that Humphrey and I have a connection, so let me explain. They believe that you can only form relationships with domestic animals like dogs and cats.

However, I am close to the most dangerous animal in Africa, Els has previously stated.Louise, a pharmacist and Els’s wife, had a different account to share. She had voiced trepidation about the hippo because it had previously created problems. Humphrey chased a 52-year-old man and his 7-year-old grandson earlier in 2011, forcing them to climb and remain in a tree for two hours.

Similarly, Humphrey has also been accused of killing calves belonging to Els’s business partner. The animal apparently frequently broke out of its enclosure and chased players at a local golf club. Els, who had also domesticated and kept rhinos and giraffes, asserted that Humphrey would return home at the sound of his voice.

He thought of the hippo as a “gentle giant” and something to love. Only Els died because Humphrey mauled him in the river on that fateful day and left him there for several hours. This happened years later. Despite minor bite marks on Els’s body, the hippo did not consume his body after killing him, despite what several internet users claimed.

Therefore, it is false to say that the guy, whom the hippo had adopted and domesticated for years, was “killed and eaten” by the animal.