Warwickshire man who survived hippo attack is on a fundraising mission

A COMPANY director from Tysoe has described how he was attacked by a hippo while on safari in Zambia.

Roland Cherry, 63, and his wife Shirley were on a river when the animal rammed their canoe and sent the pair into the water.

The impact dislocated Roland’s shoulder and while Shirley managed to swim to the riverbank, her injured husband was stranded in the water.

Moments later he found himself inside the gaping jaws of the animal, a female who was protecting her young, which dragged him to the bottom of the river.

Roland was released but when he came to the surface, he was grabbed again by the hippo which tossed him into the air.

He scrambled to safety and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

The couple were three weeks into their holiday when they were attacked during a tour of the Kafue River on 25th June.

Roland was airlifted to a hospital in Johannesburg where he spent five days before flying back to the UK.

He still has deep scarring from the 10in (25cm) bite to his stomach as well as injuries to his thigh and shoulder.

“When the hippo first hit the canoe, there was a massive crash, it was like a car crash,” he said. “The boat reared up in the air and we were both sent flying into the water.

"I surfaced but my shoulder was dislocated and I couldn't actually swim.

"I was a sitting duck, trying to swim with one arm which was never going to end well and then it grabbed me.

“Although I never saw the hippo, I thought that my time was up. At the bottom of the river it then fortunately released me and my lifejacket helped lift me back to the surface.

“At the surface I took a gulp of air but then the hippo grabbed me again and tossed me like a ragdoll, fortunately towards the riverbank where I was able to do a bum-shuffle back to the edge.

“I was badly mauled with severe bite wounds to both my legs and my left side, my left upper arm and a dislocated right shoulder. I was in a very bad way.”

“I was in its jaws and I didn't see it once - we have eye witness accounts of that happening - but I was never conscious of that.

“I just remember hearing Shirley calling my name and then lots of friendly arms dragging me out the water.”

Roland was then hauled onto a motorboat and rushed back to the couple’s camp up stream where an ambulance was waiting to take him to hospital.

Shirley, 63, recalled watching in horror as the hippo launched at her husband.

She said: “I saw him surface and he took a gulp and then I saw him being thrown in the air.

"The hippo could have attacked any one of us and I can't help feeling if it had been me, I wouldn't be here now, so I think Roland took one for the team."

Doctors told Roland that he was lucky to survive the attack and said if his wounds had been deeper he would have died.

The couple are now raising money for Mtendere Mission Hospital where Roland was initially treated.

He said: "I'm forever in their debt which is why I'm raising money to try and see what I can give back.

"They've given me an awful lot, a second chance at life and I need to give back to them."

Roland has not ruled out returning to Africa for future safari trips in the future.

He added: "We were there to see the natural world and we wanted to see, but I didn't want to see that close up.

“I certainly don't hate hippos - I'm not very fond of what one did to me.”

So far the couple have raised more than £20,000 and have increased their target to £25,000.

To make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/RolandCherry.