WATCH: Onlookers attacked after approaching hippo
PSA: Hippos are not your friends…
If you've seen any "World's Most Dangerous Animals" list, you'll know that hippos are among the animals responsible for the highest number of human deaths annually.
According to BBC Science Focus Magazine, hippos kill around 500 people each year.
Unfortunately, a group of onlookers in the lush KwaZulu-Natal town of St Lucia hadn’t recently picked up a book—or done a quick Google search.
In a video shared on the NextHunt Facebook page, a group of people can be seen walking towards a hippo.
"This is what you call idiots, you see," the man presumably filming the ordeal can be heard saying.
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Within moments of the onlookers moving closer, the hippo decides to charge.
The animal runs towards the frantic group, as each person dashes in a different direction, looking for shelter.
One woman continues to stand in front of the hippo and gets knocked to the ground.
Luckily, the group manages to escape unscathed when the hippo decides to retreat.
The man in the car, still filming, continues to call the people "stupid," and when they finally approach his car, he tells them, "You're being stupid now."
NextHunt expressed in its caption how lucky these individuals were to escape the ordeal.
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It also pointed out that there are many warning signs in St Lucia alerting people to the presence of hippos:
"Despite warning signs all over town and people warning them, they approached this hippo on foot. Please! Hippos are extremely dangerous. Never approach them on foot."
So, if you didn't know, you shouldn't approach a hippo; now you do!
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Image: Facebook/ Screenshot