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Kristen Yaldor and her husband Ryan, of Odessa, jetted off to South Africa and Zimbabwe to celebrate her 37th birthday,The Miami Heraldreported.
After enjoying a number of safaris, a drum and dinner show, Kristen and Ryan ventured to Wild Horizons, where they embarked on a canoeing excursion down the Zambezi River.
As they drifted down the body of water, a mother hippopotamus, who was with her young calf, emerged from under the water and flipped Kristen and Ryan’s canoe over,The Heraldreported.
Kristen later managed to escape, but didn’t receive medical attention for another few hours,Tampa Bay Timesreported.
When she was finally airlifted from the scene, another 13 hours passed before she arrived at a hospital in South Africa, according to theTimes.
Wild Horizons.Abdelrahman Hassanein/Getty
Despite her condition, Kristen’s family feels lucky she’s alive.
“If one of those [incisor] teeth hit her femoral artery, we would probably be planning a funeral today,” Kristen’s mother-in-law Martine Yaldor, a South Africa native, told theTampa Bay Times. “By all accounts, she was incredibly lucky.”
Although Martine admitted to theTimesthat there are “always risks involved when you interact with wildlife,” she believes the tour operator has some questions to answer.
Martine forwarded emails to theTampa Bay Times, which included statements from Ryan regarding the event as well as the CEO of the tour company.
According to Martine, Ryan’s account differs from Wild Horizons’ story, making it unclear as to whether or not Kristen listened to directions to swim away from the hippo and why it took so long for her to receive medical attention.
In the email, Wild Horizons claims they told Kristen and Ryan to swim to the island while a guide distracts the animal. However, Ryan claims there was no time for Kristen to flee as she was thrown right in front of the hippo and immediately taken under water,Tampa Bay Timesreported.
“Kristen was pulled under as soon as she hit the water,” Ryan wrote, according toThe Tampa Bay Times. “She had no opportunity to swim to shore.
Ryan also alleged that the tour guide’s radio wasn’t working, which may explain why it took so long to get Kristen to a hospital.
“This is a very unfortunate incident that can happen in the wild with animals when we’re on their territory,” Martine told theTimes. “But the people that provided this opportunity weren’t properly prepared… they need to have the courage of convictions to say, ‘Sorry, it’s not safe today.”
Wild Horizons did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request to comment further.
source: people.com
