Investigation finds how killed hippo escaped city reserve
“Officials found that the hippo exited the chalet area and came up to the main fence where some ClearVu fencing panels on the western side of the resort area were stolen by vandals.”
The Tshwane metro’s investigation into how a hippopotamus was killed on a Centurion road over the weekend has found that the young male had escaped the City’s tract of land.
The hippo was hit and killed by a car in Centurion near the Rietvlei Nature Reserve in the early hours of Sunday, April 3.
Environment and agriculture management MMC Katlego Mathebe said the hippo bull escaped from the Rietvlei reserve and was run over by a vehicle along the M57, near Nellmapius Drive.
“Nature conservation officials responded and the carcass was removed by 11:00 on Sunday.”
According to Mathebe, the young male hippo was chased away from the breeding herd by a dominant male. He subsequently gained access to the resort area of the reserve through the dam.
“Being a nocturnal feeder, the hippo would enter the overnight chalets area at night and graze there. During the investigation, nature conservation officials found that the hippo exited the chalet area and came up to the main fence where some ClearVu fencing panels on the western side of the resort area were stolen by vandals.”
She said the young male discovered the gap and made his way to the M57 through a large open veld where he was hit by the vehicle.
“Teams will fence off the gap to prevent similar instances from occurring in future,” said Mathebe.
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