British Man 'Badly Chewed Up' in Hippo Attack
British Man Real-Life Hungry, Hungry Hippo ... Hospitalized After Being 'Badly Chewed Up'
It turns out you probably don't want a hippopotamus for Christmas ... 'cause they've got some pretty dangerous chompers -- just ask the British tourist who ended up in one's mouth, and then the hospital.
Roland Cherry -- a 63-year-old Brit -- was canoeing in Zambia on part of a 5-week African safari ... when he says a hippo charged his boat and latched its teeth around him.
Cherry -- who spoke with UK-based outlet Sky News -- says his wife Shirly swam away from the animal to safety ... but, Cherry dislocated his shoulder when the hippo hit and couldn't get away from the temperamental beast.
Easy pickings for the hippo ... who Roland says dragged him down to the bottom of the river before inexplicably letting him go.
RC eventually made it to the shore ... where he looked down to see his "badly chewed up" thigh. He couldn't see the abdomen injury at the time because of the life vest he was wearing -- so, he didn't fully realize how bad his injuries were.
Cherry says he's lucky to be alive ... adding one of the surgeons who operated on him said he'd never met anyone who survived a hippo attack before, even though they're more common in the region than many people think ... and, the hippopotamus is the world's deadliest large land mammal.
Looks like Cherry's going to make a full recovery ... and, he's probably thankful this particular hippo wasn't hungry, hungry.
