Residents of Scott’s Farm were alarmed when sighting what they believed to be a dead baby hippo in their area.
Residents of Scott’s Farm were alarmed when sighting what they believed to be a dead baby hippo in their area.
Local Colleen May spotted the decomposing animal near a bridge opposite Kuyasa Special School in Evans Street last Friday 23 August at around midday. May was concerned that if the animal was indeed a hippo then the mother would be somewhere close.
The carcass was bloated with smooth skin and had small ears, resembling a hippo. The mysterious dead animal was the subject of heated debate as crowds gathered to establish whether it was a hippo, a pig or a dog.
Police also got involved but quickly left the scene. “It was surprising to see something like this, you only see these kinds of things on TV,” May said. While she thought the animal was a hippo, and others speculated that it was a pig, Nyaluza High School pupil Akhona Mesi was spot-on when he insisted it was a dog.
“If it was a pig the dogs would have eaten it,” Mesi said. Mesi had seen the carcass on several occasions on his way to and from school, he said.
He said it had had fur on it before, but because it was in the process of decomposing it was swollen beyond recognition. According to regular passers-by the rotting animal had been there for several weeks.
May blamed the municipality for its lack of concern about pollution in the river, which stretches from Joza location. The river is known to overflow when it rains.
“The municipality gets lots and lots of money for nothing and it makes me so cross. You never see the municipality cleaning here, it’s terrible,” said May. “This (river) breeds so many germs and the school children cross here every day.”
