Sayajibaug Zoo curator, security supervisor injured in hippo attack

The incident took place on Thursday evening while Dr Patankar was visiting the enclosure to check on the hippopotamus as one of the two hippos had suffered a back injury.

Vadodara Mayor Keyur Rokadia, who met Patankar in the hospital Thursday evening, said that the curator fell down after the animal charged at him. The security supervisor suffered hypervolume shock due to the rupture of a major artery in the leg, he said.

“Dr Patankar told me that he was trying to get the animal come out of the pond… as it did not respond, he tried to enter the enclosure when his shoe got stuck in the security grille and he fell into the enclosure… By then one of the hippos was already too close. Being trained to tackle such attacks, Patankar said he pretended to be dead and so the attack was milder. But the security supervisor jumped in to save Patankar and was severely assaulted by the animal,” Rokadia told The Indian Express.

The zoo staff rushed Rohit and Patankar to the nearby Narhari Hospital. Several VMC officials, including Municipal Commissioner Bancha Nidhi Pani, deputy commissioners and standing committee chairman Hitendra Patel reached the hospital. Late in the evening, the VMC officials were arranging blood units for Rohit while Patankar was taken in for a surgery.

Pani said, “The zoo curator and security supervisor were injured in an accident in the enclosure of the hippopotamus. It occurred during the routine rounds… Patankar suffered multiple fractures while the security supervisor suffered hypovolumic shock.”

Hitendra Patel said the security supervisor would also undergo a surgery once stable. “We have arranged several units of blood for the security supervisor. As soon as his vitals are stable, he will be operated upon for the ruptured artery… The VMC is doing all it can to ensure a speedy recovery of the two injured.”

The Vadodara zoo is home to two hippopotamuses named Dimpy and her offspring, Mangal. After Mangal’s birth in January 2019, Dimpy allegedly attacked her male partner Chunnu in April that year, leading to the latter’s death.

Former curator of Sayajibaug CB Patel said, “It is extremely rare for such attacks, but they happen if someone enters the enclosure. I am not aware of the attack that took place today but it is certainly the first time in a Gujarat zoo that the staff has been attacked by a hippopotamus.”