Marius Els Killed By His Pet Hippo Humphrey, South Africa

A South African farmer has been killed by the pet hippopotamus he raised from the age of five months, and which he once described as being 'like a son' to him. Humphrey the Hippo gouged owner Marius Els, 41, to death by repeatedly biting him in a vicious attack on Saturday night. The farmer's mutilated body was discovered submerged in a river running through his 400-acre farm in rural South Africa.
Only earlier this year Mr Els was seen happily riding on his 1,200kg pet bull hippo's back. 'Humphrey's like a son to me, he's just like a human,' he said at the time. 'There's a relationship between me and Humphrey and that's what some people don't understand. 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.'