A hippo’s journey from the gutters to the wild

It was a regular Wednesday afternoon in the newsroom. As I glanced up from my laptop, I saw Robert Gichira in the distance walking hastily towards me.

"There has been an attack in Naivasha…three people have been injured," he said. Robert is my co-producer for NTV Wild Talk. He knows what makes a big story, and this was one. Two adults and a child had been severely injured by a hippo; but not in the hippo and croc-infested Lake Naivasha, as anyone would have assumed. The incidents unfolded at the Naivasha Sewerage and Treatment plant.

"Why are there hippos at a sewerage plant?!" I asked. "Let's find out more", Robert responded.

A couple of days later, Jane, one of the show's videographers, Robert and I set off for Naivasha, the second biggest town in Nakuru County. The town's sewer treatment plant, which was established in 1974, was built far from the town centre for obvious reasons.

But currently, the sewer plant is literally a stone-throw away from Naivasha, testament to the town’s rapid expansion and population growth.

As Ashiko, our driver, manoeuvres through the streets, we notice that buildings are standing tall and business is booming.

As we enter the treatment plant, which has no clear boundary, we are met by the most unexpected signboard hammered onto an Acacia tree. "Caution! Beware of dangerous hippos", it reads in bold red letters. It is a message that ought to be taken very seriously – hippos are the world's deadliest land mammals. They can run at about 30-40 kilometres per hour. For perspective, the average person can sprint at about 20-30 kilometres per hour, so hippos can outrun you any day.

Naivasha is a wildlife hotspot, with Lake Naivasha about a kilometre away. Never would the town’s planners have thought that one of the largest land mammals would turn the sewerage plant into a home.

The plant has four large treatment pools and we are informed that the hippos are in the last pool, where the water has been treated. It's a family of six – three adults and three young ones.

At a safe distance, we leave the car to speak to a few area residents and Mr Joseph Dadacha, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) senior assistant director for the Central Rift region. A slight stench pervades the air, but it is bearable.

Ruth Wairimu has lived in the nearby town and knows the hippos here all too well. "There is a bull that was born in a nearby trench. It used to stay in the water, but when the water flow stopped, it moved into the sewerage pond," she says.

Over the years, the landscape around the lake has changed, with increased farming activities, more trenches and electric fences.

"These hippos have been blocked from accessing the lake, and the ones in the lake cannot access this place because of human activities," she says.

The hippos have been trapped in the unhealthy, bacteria-filled environment but still need to survive. They can weigh up to 2.5 tonnes and eat up to 40 kilos of grass daily. Their presence at the plant and their search for food have set the stage for conflict between man and beast. The hippos have been venturing closer to homesteads at night, and to ward them off, Ruth says the residents have been lighting fires.

Amid the increasing conflict, it was only a matter of time before the war incurred casualties. Mr Dadacha says one of the three victims was an employee of the sewerage plant. He was attacked by the hippos and succumbed to his injuries. A few days later, two more people were attacked and injured. Ruth believes there is a reason behind the conflict.

"The hippo that is attacking people used to have a calf. When she came out with the calf, people hunted it down, killed it and ate it. Now that she has another calf, she fears that it will also be killed. I think that is why she is attacking people. She is just protecting her baby," she explains.

Despite being herbivores, hippos are among the world's deadliest land mammals. They have enormous jaws that can open 180 degrees and canines that can grow to more than one and a half feet long. Although they appear docile, they will attack if they're nervous or sense danger.

There have been claims that passers-by deliberately provoked the hippos. Still, the attacks have angered residents, who are threatening to retaliate. They say that if the KWS does not get rid of the hippos, they'll kill them with machetes themselves.

According to the law, the KWS cannot eliminate a lactating animal. The hippos cannot be taken to the nearby Lake Naivasha either as they left three years ago and would face territorial conflict with new hippo families, which could force them to attempt to return to the sewerage plant.

The KWS team decided to translocate the family miles away to a safer location as any loss of life, whether human or animal, is not an option.

Capturing and moving a hippo is a monumental task that requires planning and significant logistics. It begins with turning part of the sewerage plant into what looks like a construction site. The KWS team first surrounds the sewage pond with strong netting to contain the hippos in one location. They then build a metal boma, a process that takes about a day.

I join the KWS team in preparing for a daring exercise to capture the hippos. First, I help collect kilos of baby corn and fill the boma with this "treat" that will be used to lure the hippos out of the water. All this while, I am extremely cautious. I can see the animals in the water. They appear so calm, but I remember how dangerous they can be.

Once in the boma, the metal door will be closed by a truck connected to a rope. In most translocations, animals are darted, sedated first and then captured. In this exercise, Dr Dominic Mijele, the lead KWS vet, explains that hippos cannot be darted first as they would likely run into the water and could drown and die.

After hours of preparation, from securing the boma to loading it with baby corn, we wait for the sun to set. Hippos are most active in the evenings and come out to feed at night. Operating in the dark makes this an extremely risky exercise. We must keep our distance and maintain silence so as not to distract or scare the hippos away.

The air gets colder as darkness falls, and our patience wears thin. The atmosphere is still. The only noise is the crackling of the firewood, which burns gently, providing us with some light and warmth.

"Is it out?" Dr Mijele asks, speaking into his two-way radio.

"Yes, yes, there's one!" His team member replies.

"Good!" He says.

Suddenly, we hear a loud bang.

"The door is closed!" Says Dr Mijele. "Let's go!"

We rush to the boma and what we witness shocks and frightens Jane, Robert and I. Trapped in the boma, the male hippo makes its aggression, frustration and intelligence clear. It throws its weight against the door with all its might, trying to escape. Each dramatic push against the boma door makes a loud, earth-shattering banging sound. This hippo is not giving up.

Spotlights are shined in its direction to disorient it and the team shouts to frighten it. It is an extremely dramatic situation. The team is under immense pressure to ensure the male hippo does not escape. They need it to enter the crate connected to the boma.

Working in darkness with a wild animal requires all the bravery and expertise the KWS staff can muster. There is tension in the air, but eventually the experienced team contain and calms the hippo. Filming in the dark, surrounded by so much drama, has also challenged Jane and Robert.

Surrounded by silence and darkness, the hippo finally enters the crate, lured by the corn we left for it. But it loudly expresses its displeasure at being locked up by violently rattling the crate. It is understandably aggressive and confused, confined to a small space. The team loads the crate onto the flat lorry, another arduous task.

It is 10pm, and we set off for our six-hour overnight journey to the newly established Tundra Conservancy in Laikipia County.

The lush grassland stretches to the horizon and there are no signs of human beings living here. For wildlife, this is paradise. The container is lowered near a man-made dam, placed parallel to the water. The capture team doesn't want the hippo bolting straight in as he could break his legs.

It has been a long, rough night for the hippo, and he's not keen on staying in the container a second longer. He bolts right out and after losing his way and exploring the area, he finally heads towards the water. Then he slowly wades in. This hippo has only known sewage water all his life. I ask Dr Mijele how fresh water would make a difference for the hippo.

"It has little infection, the hippos will have no skin condition, the water will favour breeding and they can drink fresh water. This type of clean water has more oxygen than sewage water. Their health will improve. There is also abundant feed around, there are no people around, hence there'll be no conflict," he says.

The entire family of hippos from the sewerage plant was eventually captured and translocated here. The exercise took a total of 10 days. It was an enormous effort, but a worthy one as hippos are vital to the aquatic ecosystems in which they live. They move around soil, carving out channels in the water and paths on the land, and creating habitats for smaller animals, whose survival also depends on hippos' nutrient-rich faeces. Hence, they must be protected.

Like most species, hippos face another challenge besides human-wildlife conflict – climate change. Dr Mijele says hippo habitats have been affected by deterioration and in certain areas, hippos are beginning to lack grazing grounds around water bodies. He says land around lakes and rivers needs to be conserved to protect the species and secure more space for conservancies, where animals are safe from the threats of human-wildlife conflict.

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Additional reporting by Robert Gichira

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