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39-year-old Natasha Vrany of Alberton says she is unable to sleep at night after an incredibly traumatic experience that took place on November 13.

A hippo attack has seen her traumatised and having to undergo two operations.

Vrany and her 62-year-old cousin, Belinda Newman, were visiting Jessica’s Place near Hoedspruit, Limpopo, a famous establishment run by Tony and Shirley Joubert.

Jessica’s Place is home to two hippos,  Jessica and Richie, who live inside the family home and can be petted and fed by visitors.

According to the reserve’s website, Jessica (pictured below] was found on the lawn in March 2000 during a large flood when she was just a few days old and handed from a bottle.

Richie arrived under similar conditions in January 2012.

Here’s where the stories told by Vrany and the Jouberts differ. Via IOL, Vrany says they visited on November 12 and the attack took place the following day while they were sitting on the Jouberts’ lawn:

“Tony had no weapon or rifle with him. We felt quite safe and confident that there would be no issues.”

“All of a sudden, Richie came dashing out of the river. My back was facing the river, but I heard the stamping on the ground. As I got on my feet, Richie pushed me down to the ground and proceeded to bite both my legs and throw me around like a rag doll. He had both legs in his mouth, biting harder with every second.

Vrany said she tried to stick her nails into his left eye, but it only made him bite down harder.

She says that as she was being carried towards the river, with Tony slapping the hippo, Belinda jumped on Richie’s back.

The hippo released Vrany and turned its attention to her cousin and “started ripping her stomach to pieces”.

Vrany says she ran inside and asked for help before passing out. When she woke up, Belinda was standing over her “holding her intestines in her hand to try and get them to stay inside”.

It’s alleged that when Vrany asked for a phone to call for help Tony said he would assist only if they agreed to say the attack happened outside of the Jouberts’ property and was carried out by a wild hippo.

Tony tells a very different story:

[He] maintained that the incident occurred outside his premises, and he said when he saw the “wild hippo” getting hold of Vrany, he jumped into action.

He said he took a heavy rock and hit the hippo’s head with it. “I managed to hit him above the eye, where there is soft bone, and he dropped her. I saved her life while putting my own life at risk.”

Tony said after attacking the women, the hippo disappeared back into the water.

Tony says that as he went to call for help he saw Jessica sleeping on the verandah and Richie on his blanket.

He also denies that he refused to hand over a phone so that Vrany could call for help.

Clearly, Vrany was never going to leave a stellar review on TripAdvisor:

Vrany has also been active on social media, spreading her story:

It’s unclear whether any legal action is planned or what the affected parties intend to do going forward.

Let’s finish with this video from four years ago from Getty Images TV detailing Jessica’s story:

[source:iol]