Published on : Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Chang Ming Chuang, 66, was tracking the animal at a wildlife resort on Lake Naivasha, 90km (56 miles) north-west of the capital, Nairobi. Another tourist was also injured. Wildlife officials later shot dead the hippo.
High water levels have seen hippos, which are the world’s deadliest large land mammal, stray on to resorts for pasture.
Witnesses said the two Taiwanese tourists had come too close to the animal near the Sopa hotel. The bitten man was rushed to hospital bleeding profusely but later died. The second tourist was treated for minor bruising at Naivasha District Hospital.
“Our officers tracked and shot the animal after the incident,” said KWS warden Nelson Cheruiyot.
Within this year, six people have been killed by hippos in the area.
Hippos are aggressive animals; have sharp teeth and weigh up to 2,750kg (three tons), and kill an estimated 500 people every year in Africa.
Tourism earned Kenya $1.2bn (£950m) last year, with 1.4 million international arrivals.
Tags: Taiwanese tourist