The young hippo bull Solly, who was being removed from a swimming pool at Monate Game Lodge near Modimolle, Limpopo, and who attracted a huge media following, died. Photo: Chris Collingridge

Limpopo – Solly the hippo is dead. After spending the past four days in the 10x5m pool in the Monate Game Lodge, the 1-ton hippo died because “the vet took too long to arrive and this animal was stressed to death”, says the lodge manager.

The rescue mission was always going to be dangerous. He had a one-in-three chance of succumbing to the tranquillising dart. If too little water was pumped out and he was darted he could have drowned.

And if the operation took too long he could have become too distressed or overheated in the shallow pool.

In the end a diversion by the vet to a nearby farm to deal with the difficult birth of a sable antelope meant that the rescue operation which was due to start at 8am only got under way after 10am.

The plan, according to Simon Prinsloo, of Nylsvlei Game Dealers, was that once the vet arrived on the scene, the water from the pool in which Solly was trapped would be drained and he would be darted. The animal would need to be moved within an hour as “every animal, from an impala to an elephant, reacts differently, you just don’t know what to expect”.

But as the water was pumped out of the swimming pool in preparation for his removal, Solly became more stressed with the huge animal lying on his side.

For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za/