According to the suit on June 5, the couple went on a “bush walk” escorted by local guides who encouraged them to explore the countryside “with no barriers between them and the wildlife in the area,” During the walk, the guides led them to a still body of water where they pointed out to the Manders a partially submerged, lone hippopotamus resting in the water. The guides then “negligently encouraged and permitted participants of the Bush Walk, including Craig and Lisa Manders, to approach the water and stand on the bank to observe, photograph, and record the hippopotamus and its surroundings,”.

Yet they should have known that being so close to a wild hippopotamus “posed an immediate and extreme danger, due to the known tendencies of hippopotami to be highly unpredictable, territorial, and aggressive in such circumstances.” The guides should therefore have been fully aware of the grave threat that the proximity to the animal posed to the Manders’ safety. The Manders were never adequately warned of the dangers.

The guides then left the scene, including one who was armed with a rifle, leaving them without protection. It was at this point that, as Lisa Manders stood on the water bank, the hippopotamus suddenly lifted its head and charged at her. She tried to flee, but 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.” Lisa died shortly after the attack.

The suit said that Lisa suffered “significant premorbid fear and emotional pain, suffering and mental anguish”. In contrast, her husband, in witnessing the killing, suffered ‘severe and debilitating emotional and psychological injuries’. As a result, he has difficulties coping with normal chores.

The company, on its part, denied any negligence or recklessness in connection with Lisa Manders’ death and shifted liability to Chiawa Safari in Zambia, the owners of the lodge where the Manders stayed. It argued that it was only responsible for the ‘arrangement’ and not the ‘execution’ of the safari. In other words, it is not “responsible for third-party negligence.” Chiawa, on the other hand, implied that it was the victim who was negligent for failing to heed warnings to return to the safety of the vehicle “during the incident.”

Craig Manders’ attorneys described the incident as “entirely preventable.” While Slager, of Slager Madry LLC, said “Interacting with the natural world in the wilderness can be an incredibly rich experience,” but ‘wilderness guides and tour operators like African Portfolio carry the responsibility to ensure basic safety precautions are taken to protect customers visiting the African wilderness from unnecessary extreme dangers.” 

The risks linked to observing animals must be viewed in context. Kenya is one of the world’s leading safari destinations; yet, there has been no record since independence of a hippo killing an American tourist or resident. As Slater has noted above, ‘basic safety precautions (should be) taken to ensure customers visiting the African wilderness are not unnecessarily exposed to extreme dangers.”