JOHANNESBURG (WTVR) – A young hippo stranded for days in a swimming pool in South Africa died Friday.
Reuters reports that rescuers failed to save Solly, who had been trapped for three days in the pool at a South African game park. The pool did not have steps or any other way for the creature.
The ordeal was followed by many in South Africa as rescuers emptied the pool, then sedated the creature and used a crane to pull it out.
Authorities have not yet figured out what caused the hippo’s death.
The hippo slipped into the pool after it was chased off from its herd by some male hippos seeking dominance.
“It started out as a happy story and now it’s a tragic story. It’s devastating,” the manager of the lodge where the hippo fell in the water told the SAPA news agency.
