Lake Naivasha’s Hippo Shakes Up a Saturday Evening
Picture this: a sunny, serene shore at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, and a shining tourist from Taiwan trying to capture the moment. Suddenly a giant hippo roars into the scene and turns the peaceful stroll into a nightmare.
Who got the bad end?
- Chang Ming Chuang, 66 – Sadly, the hippo’s first victim. He was declared dead upon arrival at Naivasha District Hospital.
- Wu Peng Te, 62 – Miraculously survived the encounter and is now making camp in the campgrounds nearby.
Kidnapped by a Known but Unpredictable Hippo
Wildlife officials are on the hunt for the raucous hippo. “We are tracking the hippo,” the Kenya Wildlife Service announced on Twitter, hinting at a possible chase scene.
Diplomacy Gets Really Bumpy
It turns out “Taiwanese” tourists are a bit more complicated than the name suggests. The Taiwan Foreign Ministry claims the two were from the self-ruled island, but official reports from China’s Xinhua listed them as Chinese. Diplomats from Taipei’s representative office in South Africa and from the Chinese embassy in Nairobi were dispatched to provide support. According to Xinhua, the Chinese embassy said, “It is the unshakable duty of the Chinese government to provide consular protection services to Taiwanese compatriots.”
Hippo Stress Triggers a Territorial Outcry
Why was the hippo in the first place? The head of a local boat owners’ association said that record‑high water levels, caused by last year’s drought and this year’s heavy rains, forced the hippos out of their usual lakeshore habitat and onto farmland and hotel properties. In other words, it’s the water and the hippu contact!
Lake Naivasha: The Tourist Magnet
Just a quick note: Naivasha is a bustling city about 90 km northwest of Nairobi. Kenya’s strong tourism industry drew nearly 1.5 million visitors last year – a vital source of foreign exchange. A hippo incident that dramatically shifts a tourist’s day is a stark reminder that nature runs wild, and you might just be the headline of the day.
