Greenwich Safari Company Sued Over Fatal Hippo Attack

GREENWICH, CT — A local company which provides African safari tours is being sued by a New Jersey man whose wife was killed by a hippopotamus in Zambia in June.

Craig Manders, widower and executor of the estate of Lisa Manders, filed the lawsuit against African Portfolio Inc. of Old Greenwich on Feb. 5 in Superior Court in Stamford.

The Cranford, New Jersey couple departed for a 10-day African safari on May 31, 2024.

The attack happened June 5 on a bush walk led by the company’s tour guides, according to the lawsuit, filed by Attorney Paul Slager of Stamford.

The lawsuit claims the couple was encouraged to explore on foot, with no barriers between them and the wildlife.

During the tour, the guides highlighted a partially submerged lone hippopotamus, the lawsuit states. It claims the company should have known the close presence of a wild hippopotamus “posed an immediate and extreme danger” to the couple as they stood on the bank by the water, as the animals can be “territorial, unpredictable and aggressive.”

The lawsuit asserts the couple wasn’t warned by the tour guides of the danger, nor were they aware of it. The litigation claims the company guides negligently encouraged safari participants to approach the water, and then observe, photograph and record the hippo.

While at least one guide had a firearm, the lawsuit alleges the guides left the area, leaving the couple with no protection.

Lisa Manders was standing on the water bank when the hippopotamus suddenly charged her. While she tried to flee, she was unable to escape, the lawsuit states.

“The hippopotamus violently attacked her, grabbing her by its mouth, lifting her off the ground, shaking her entire body, and crushing her head and body with its bite,” the lawsuit states.

Lisa Manders died shortly afterward from her injuries, described in the lawsuit as “catastrophic.”

Craig Manders witnessed the entire attack and his wife’s death, according to the lawsuit.

It claims the company was negligent for not providing a “reasonably safe environment” for the couple, and for encouraging and permitting them to be exposed to an “avoidable and highly dangerous encounter with a hippopotamus.”

It alleges the company failed to adequately train its staff or have adequate safety procedures. As a result, Lisa Manders suffered pain and death, and Craig Manders lost his wife, and he suffered severe emotional and psychological injuries, according to the lawsuit.

Rodney Gould, an attorney for African Portfolio, told Patch that his client organizes and arranges tours with a "highly reputable" local safari lodge, but was not responsible for running the trip.

Gould said Lisa Manders' death was a "terrible thing," but that no one from African Portfolio was on the excursion.

"We acted as a tour operator," he said. "We arranged the items. We don't own the airline, we don't own the guides — we don't select any of them, and what our obligation is is to have reason to believe that a supplier of services is competent."

According to her obituary, Lisa Manders was 70 at the time of her death. The mother and grandmother had worked in the finance industry for over 40 years as a registered client associate and for Merrill Lynch for more than two decades.

About 500 human deaths are attributed to hippos annually worldwide, according to Statista.

The New Jersey Patch team contributed to this story.