Young man seriously wounded by zoo hippopotamus

A young man was attacked and seriously wounded by a hippopotamus in the Temara zoo (20 km south of Rabat) said the 2M TV Channel.

The young man, 21, who declined to be named, wanted to take pictures of the beast from close going over the security fence when the hippopotamus bit his hand pulling him inside the enclosure. The hippopotamus also bit the young man's face.

Taken to hospital, medical staff decided for a surgical operation due to the seriousness of the wounds.

Zoo personnel said after the incident, mishaps of the kind are very rare at the facility owing to enforced security measures and called on visitors to respect security rules.