A hippopotamus that accidentally jumped out of the truck the animal was being transported in was reported to be a dinosaur by one frightened witness according to a report in the Dec. 27, 2014, edition of The Japan Times. The hippo landed on a parked car and broke a leg. The car suffered minor injures.
The hippo named A Ho remained in the street for several hours until a truck and equipment from the farm in the city of Taichung where the animal lives came to rescue the downed hippo. According to the report the hippo upstaged soap operas and national news in Taiwan, China, Africa, and Japan. The experts from the zoo claim that A Ho will recover from his injuries. The animal was safely transported back to his home.
The noise of the hippo crashing through a glass plate on the transfer truck and falling on the car was loud enough to be heard by residents that were blocks away. The average pygmy hippo weighs about 500 pounds. While the report of a dinosaur may be a bit on the side of the bizarre, hippopotami are one of the most ancient animals on Earth.
Obviously, something was not well planned in the hippo transport. The truck driver reported seeing the animal fly out of the truck. The transport company and the farm may face fines for animal cruelty and lack of proper animal care that could be as much as $2,400. Fortunately, the animal is expected to make a full recovery and any reports of dinosaurs roaming about Taiwan are an exaggeration.
