Paul Templer was 27-years-old and working as a river guide doing tours down the Zambezi river in Zimbabwe. During those tours, he had experienced many 'half-hearted' attacks from a territorial male hippo. However, one day the hippo attacked viciously out of nowhere.
The attack first killed an apprentice guide, and then turned to Templer when he approached to help his coworker.
Templer said he felt no pain or transition, just like he had suddenly gone blind and deaf. He was trapped head-in up to his waist inside the hippo!He described it as slimy, that it smelled like rotten eggs and had a tremendous pressure in his chest. He managed to wriggle free once, but the hippo attacked again. The hippo eventually spat him out and he managed to live.
The attack left him with 40 puncture wounds. Some were so deep, you could see his lungs. He also lost an arm because it got crushed by the animal. Templer eventually returned to his job as a guide.