Four die after eating dead hippo's meat in western Uganda

Xinhuanet ^ | 9/13/04

[gutshot]

Four people in western Uganda died recently after they reportedly ate a dead hippo's meat, The New Vision newspaper reported on Monday.

The dead, from Bunyaruguru county, Bushenyi district, ate the meat after the hippo died of a strange disease.

Three more ate hospitalized at Rugazi Health Center, the reportsaid.

Bushenyi district director of health services Charles Katurebe said they were investigating the deaths.

Bunyaruguru county residents have always complained that hippos from Queen Elizabeth National Park eat their crops.

A mysterious disease hitting Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda about a month ago has killed more than 100 hippos out of an estimated 4,000 up to date.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) dispatched an expert team made up of people from the UWA, Makerere University, the Ministry of Agriculture and an European Union supported disease control program in mid-August to investigate the death.

However, the cause of the death remains a mystery.

[gutshot]

I'm guessing that some farmer poisoned the hippos and then some people ate the poisoned meat. If someone offers you a slice of Ugandan hippo meat, Just say NO. Stay safe.

[Flavius]

Wonder how the exotic deseases jumped into human population...

oh wait..

[Drango]

Look, why do we need to drag Bill Clinton and Al Gore into this? Just leave Hippo out of the story....

[JediForce]

There goes my big Hippo Roast. Damn...anyone need a 55 gallon drum of Hienze 57 sauce ?

[festus]

The only thing worse on you to eat than dead hippo meat is live hippo meat.....

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I know I wouldn't eat it...

[nuconvert]

Whew!

Luckily, my supermarket has been all out of hippo meat.

[blackdog]

Uganda has never had the pleasure of a visit from Michael Moore have they? Well, I'll be the first to certify him organic fed.........

[Rokke]

No way. That just happened down the street from me a couple weeks ago. I just figured it was a New Jersey problem. I mean, when your happily married governor comes out of the closet as a gay sex herasser, getting poisoned by hippo meat just doesn't seem that strange.

[Captainpaintball]

These morons see hippos dropping dead of some strange disease, and what do they do? They EAT them!

This is why 15 billion dollars for AIDS relief to Africa is such a bad idea. We'll be seeing adults suffocating themselves putting condoms over their heads!

[Constitution Day]

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Never eat road kill.

[Robert Lomax]

It didn't say whether or not the deceased cooked their meat before eating it.

[Robert A Cook PE]

In a related story, Hillary reports a sudden weight loss.

[jongaltsr]

They would probably have died if they tried to eat a "Live" hippo.

[Fester Chugabrew]

We're talking a MAJOR case of Montezuma's Revenge here, folks. On the solid side, that is.

[gutshot]

Looks like fried hippo steak is the preferred cooking style.

"Lea Harushimana, a 25-year-old mother, says she celebrates whenever she can get hold of hippo steaks and fries them with cassava, rice or potatoes. “We invite neighbours, it’s a party. Hippo meat is delicious,” she said." http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_19-8-2003_pg9_11

[garyhope]

I wonder if it tasted like chicken?

And no,...I don't mean John Kerry.

Oh ha ha ha ha, I am just so funny.