British Man ‘Badly Chewed Up’ in Hippo Attack

It turns out you probably don’t want a hippopotamus for Christmas … ’cause they’ve got some pretty dangerous chompers — just ask the British tourist who ended up in one’s mouth, and then the hospital.

Roland Cherry — a 63-year-old Brit — was canoeing in Zambia on part of a 5-week African safari … when he says a hippo charged his boat and latched its teeth around him.

Cherry — who spoke with UK-based outlet Sky News — says his wife Shirly swam away from the animal to safety … but, Cherry dislocated his shoulder when the hippo hit and couldn’t get away from the temperamental beast.

Easy pickings for the hippo … who Roland says dragged him down to the bottom of the river before inexplicably letting him go.

RC eventually made it to the shore … where he looked down to see his “badly chewed up” thigh. He couldn’t see the abdomen injury at the time because of the life vest he was wearing — so, he didn’t fully realize how bad his injuries were.

Cherry says he’s lucky to be alive … adding one of the surgeons who operated on him said he’d never met anyone who survived a hippo attack before, even though they’re more common in the region than many people think … and, the hippopotamus is the world’s deadliest large land mammal.