A New Jersey man whose wife was killed by a hippopotamus during an African safari has filed a lawsuit alleging that their tour operator was negligent in failing to keep her safe.

Craig Manders says in the suit that he witnessed the horrifying death of his wife Lisa, 70, who was killed in Zambia last year during a safari organized by a Connecticut company, African Portfolio.

“Had we understood the dangers posed by the hippopotamus, we never would have agreed to be in such close contact while on foot,” Manders said in a statement released by his attorneys, Paul Slager and Nicole Coates.

“The idea that we were unwittingly exposed to such an extreme danger, a danger made even worse by our tour guides leaving Lisa alone on foot with nothing between her and such a deadly animal, is nothing short of astonishing.”

Rod Gould, a lawyer for African Portfolio, described the incident as a terrible but "really unusual" tragedy. He said the company arranges tours and works with the most reputable safari lodges in Africa but is not responsible for what goes on during the trips.

"My client is a tour operator. It organizes tours," Gould said. "A trip, for example, might include airfare. We're not responsible if the airline loses luggage."

In the suit filed in Stamford Superior Court, Manders says he and his wife left the U.S. on May 31, 2024, for a 10-day safari in Zambia, a country in southern Africa.

Five days later, the couple went on a “bush walk” with guides who led them to a riverbank where a lone hippopotamus was resting in the water, the suit says. Known for being fiercely territorial and aggressive, hippos are among the most dangerous animals on Earth.

Despite their size – adult males typically weigh over 3,000 pounds – hippos can run fast over short distances, reaching speeds upward of 20 mph.

The guides “knew or should have known that the close presence of the wild hippopotamus to participants in the Bush Walk posed an immediate and extreme danger, due to the known tendencies of hippopotami to be highly unpredictable, territorial, and aggressive in such circumstances,” the lawsuit says.

But the guides, including at least one armed with a rifle, left the area, the suit says, leaving the Manders and others in their group to observe the hippo without any protection. (Yahoo!)