Guy sues African tour company after watching wife killed by hippo

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Lisa Manders, 70, was attacked last year in Zambia on a dream trip with her husband Craig.

The mother-of-three suffered 'catastrophic injuries' and died moments after the attack, according to a lawsuit her grieving husband has now filed against African Portfolio, the Connecticut-based company that organized the trip.

'Had we understood the dangers posed by the hippopotamus, we never would have agreed to be in such close contact while on foot,' Craig said in a statement.

'The idea that we were unwittingly exposed to such an extreme danger, a danger made even worse by our tour guides leaving Lisa alone on foot with nothing between her and such a deadly animal, is nothing short of astonishing.'

The pair left America on May 31, 2024, for a ten-day safari in Zambia. They had only been there for five days when they went out on a 'bush walk,' according to the lawsuit.

The guides, according to the lawsuit, 'knew or should have known that the close presence of the wild hippopotamus to participants in the Bush Walk posed an immediate and extreme danger, due to the known tendencies of hippopotami to be highly unpredictable, territorial, and aggressive in such circumstances.'

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That was when the hippo suddenly charged out of the water toward Lisa and attacked her.

'She was unable to escape and the hippopotamus violently attacked her, grabbing her but its mouth, lifting her off the ground, shaking her entire body, and crushing her head and body with its bite,' the lawsuit said.

The company is fighting the widower's claims, insisting Lisa's death was 'really unusual' but a tragic accident.

The suit claims that the Manders' were 'neither fully aware, nor adequately warned' by the guides that approaching the bank would potentially endanger them.

It further claimed that they were 'negligently encouraged... to approach the water and stand on the bank' to see and photograph the hippo.

Craig's attorneys described the incident as an 'entirely preventable' tragedy.

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