Florida woman, 37, is tossed from her canoe by angry hippo and has her leg broken after it dragged her under water during dream Zimbabwe vacation

  • Kristen Yaldor, of Odessa, Florida, had her right femur broken by angry hippo's teeth in the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe Saturday
  • Kristen and her husband, Ryan Yaldor, were canoeing down the river when female hippo protecting her calf threw their boat in the air 
  • Kristen was attacked by the hippo and dragged under, but managed to escape 
  • It took about 14 hours for Kristen to be airlifted to a hospital in South Africa for treatment 
  • Eyewitness claimed the tourists got too close to hippos, by Yaldors insist they were not told about the calf's presence and followed their guides' instructions  

By Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com

Published: 12:00 EST, 4 December 2018 | Updated: 14:18 EST, 4 December 2018

For Kristen and Ryan Yaldor, what started out as a dream vacation to Zimbabwe to celebrate the wife's birthday ended with the woman's leg being broken by an enraged hippopotamus in the Zambezi River.

The Odessa, Florida, couple were canoeing with a pair of tour guides near Victoria Falls on Saturday morning when their vessels got too close to a hippo calf submerged in the water.

Before the Yaldors knew what was happening, the baby hippo's mother swam under their boat and threw it in the air, causing Kristen and Ryan to be ejected into the water. 

Travel nightmare: Ryan and Kristen Yaldor were floating down the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe Saturday when an angry hippo protecting her calf overturned their canoe and bit the woman on her right leg, breaking her femur (pictured in the canoe just before the attack) 

Travel nightmare: Ryan and Kristen Yaldor were floating down the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe Saturday when an angry hippo protecting her calf overturned their canoe and bit the woman on her right leg, breaking her femur (pictured in the canoe just before the attack) 

The Yaldors traveled to Africa to celebrate Kristen's 37th birthday
Couple are pictured at Victoria Falls

Dream vacation: The Yaldors traveled to Africa to celebrate Kristen's 37th birthday (pictured at Victoria Falls, left and right) 

The Yaldors said there were hippos in the river, so their guides told them to move out of the way, but they were not aware there was a calf in the water (stock image) 

The Yaldors said there were hippos in the river, so their guides told them to move out of the way, but they were not aware there was a calf in the water (stock image) 

The husband was able to swim to a nearby island, but the massive hippo clamped its powerful jaws down on the wife's right leg and pulled her under.

Kristen somehow managed to free herself from the animal's maw and make her way to safety despite suffering from a broken femur.

According to the husband speaking to Tampa Bay Times, it took an hour for a medical helicopter to pick them up, and another 13 hours to airlift them to a hospital in South Africa, where Kristen remained in intensive care Tuesday.

Kristen, who works with her husband for a Florida telecom company (pictured), remains in intensive care at a South African hospital 

Kristen, who works with her husband for a Florida telecom company (pictured), remains in intensive care at a South African hospital 

Ryan's mother, Martine Yaldor, told the paper her daughter-in-law was fortunate that one of the hippo's massive incisors did not bite into her femoral artery, which would have caused her to bleed out.

Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Yinashe Farawo confirmed Saturday's incident and issued a reminder to all tourists to be 'extra careful' and stay away from wild animals.

Several local news outlets quoted an unnamed eyewitness claiming that the Yaldors came too close to the hippo, causing the animal to panic and attack their canoe.

But according to the Yaldor family, Kristen and Ryan did nothing wrong and followed their tour guides' instructions.

‘I almost felt like they were going, “Ha ha, here's another stupid American tourist,"’ Martine said of the press coverage in Zimbabwe.

Ryan's mother is a South African national and he has traveled to the continent multiple times. For his wife, it was her second trip to Africa.

The Yaldors, who both work for their family's Florid-based phone and Internet provider PBX-Change, booked the canoe trip down the Zambezi River through the Zimbabwe tour operator Wild Horizons.

Ryan told the Times that the tour guides did not warn them about the calf in the water.

As they were floating own the river, the guides noticed some hippos up ahead on the right and instructed the couple to move to the left.

An eyewitness claimed the tourists got too close to the hippos, by the Yaldors insisted they were followed their guides' instructions

An eyewitness claimed the tourists got too close to the hippos, by the Yaldors insisted they were followed their guides' instructions

The husband's uncle claimed the tour company alleged that the American tourists were told to swim to an island in the river, but Ryan said his wife was thrown directly in front of the adult hippo and immediately dragged under, giving her no time to swim to safety.

The husband also claimed that their guides' cell phone and radio did not work, which caused a delay in the arrival of the medical helicopter.

DailyMail.com on Tuesday contacted Wild Horizons and left a message for Ryan Yaldor, who is said to be traveling, seeking comments on the incident. 

Advertisement

Florida woman attacked by a HIPPO protecting her calf on dream Zimbabwe vacation

Most watched News videos

Comments 85

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

What's This?

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.