WATCH: Provoked hippo charges group of people in St Lucia

UPDATE | The holidaymakers involved in Wednesday night’s hippo harassment have been ordered out of St Lucia, and accommodation establishments advised not to take future bookings from them. They were given an hour to vacate town or face law enforcement proceedings

A group of people were lucky to escape unscathed after being charged by a hippo in St Lucia on Tuesday night.

Video footage shared widely on social media shows a hippo grazing on a piece of ground in the town when three people ventured too close.

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Feeling threatened, the hippo reacted defensively and charged them.

Attempting to run away, the group is knocked to the ground, and the hippo escapes.

While the people appear to have got away unscathed, it is hoped they developed a newfound respect for wildlife.

The situation could have ended in tragedy.

Any wild animal will react defensively when feeling threatened, and hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.

People are reminded to respect animals’ sense of space and enjoy the sighting from afar.

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