RE: Hippo who was stuck in pool in South Africa dies during rescue operations

	RE: Hippo who was stuck in pool in South Africa dies during rescue operations (my response) A hippo who wandered into a swimming pool at a South African game lodge three days ago died Friday before a rescue team could pull him out with a crane, a cruel blow to many across this country who hoped the animal would be saved. In a country still reeling from last week's mine violence leaving dozens of strikers dead, the plight of the hippopotamus called Solly captivated South African media with live TV broadcasts from the game lodge and newspaper headlines like "It's all systems go for the rescue of Solly the hippo." His death left several of those involved pointing fingers of blame. Monate Conservation Lodge manager Ruby Ferreira said a game capture team had been waiting for a veterinarian to show up since Thursday before hoisting out the heavy hippo with a crane. Late Thursday, it seemed a rescue for the wayward hippo could be carried off. Someone even set up a Twitter account on behalf of the hippo and tweeted purported hippo quotes. Then on Friday morning, the TV news carried a scrolling headline announcing Solly's death. "It started out as a happy story and now it's a tragic story. It's devastating," Ferreira said. The vet didn't arrive until late Friday morning, and when he did and saw that he had come too late he tried to blame the media, saying they created pressure for a rescue attempt on Friday instead of waiting for the hippo to gather strength by being fed. But the vet also said he couldn't have saved the animal anyway because of the <b>...</b>	From: itsaresponsevideo Views: 0 0 ratings
	Time: 01:23	More in News & Politics