Two-year-old Paul Iga had a miraculous escape when he was playing near his home in Uganda and was grabbed by a hippopotamus, which then swallowed half of his body before spitting it out.
The incident took place at Queen Elizabeth National Park at around noon on 12 December 2022.
A local resident, Chrismas Bagonza, witnessed the incident and threw stones at the hippo in an attempt to save the child.
The strategy appeared to work as the hippo spat out the toddler before returning to the water.
Paul was taken to the hospital for treatment and given a rabies vaccine before being released.
This is the first reported incident of a hippo straying out of Lake Edward and attacking a child in Uganda. Hippopotamuses are the deadliest large land mammal in the world, causing hundreds of deaths in Africa each year.
According to the police, the hippopotamus was frightened back into the lake, and they cautioned residents to be cautious when near animal sanctuaries and habitats.