EPISODE · Dec 3, 2025 · 36 MIN
Episode 49: The Delta Hippos Strike Twice
from Wilderness Bonescapes Podcast · host Wilderness Bonescapes
In the heart of Botswana’s Okavango Delta—where beauty and danger live side by side—two lives were changed forever in two separate hippo attacks in the same month. First, former Miss South Africa Diana Tilden-Davis was guiding her canoe through a shallow narrow channel when the Delta struck. A stressed, starving hippo surged upward, its jaws clamping around her leg, dragging her into a desperate fight for survival. Weeks prior, newlyweds Janice and Bruce Simpson drifted into paradise… and straight into a nightmare. A massive hippo, hidden in the reeds, exploded from the water with unimaginable force—shattering their canoe, and ending Janice’s life in an instant. A dream honeymoon turned to horror. Two attacks. One unforgiving wilderness. And a single haunting truth: In the Okavango Delta, the most dangerous predator… isn’t always the one you see coming...Wilderness Bonescapes Outdoor Saleshttps://wildernessbonescapes.com/outdoor-stuff-on-sale ..Audiblehttps://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/arya/mlpencoding=UTF8&purchaseType=MTRIAL&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dbb68da43653929fb3e8e59c2c5c70fe&language=enUS&ref_=as_li_ss_tl ..Amazon Music Unlimitedhttps://www.amazon.com/music/unlimited?&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dadc11e13b402d23e3446ad1517a5dd4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl...Sources:1. https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2003-12-25-former-miss-sa-recovers-after-hippo-attack/2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3346735.stm3. https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/hippo-bites-beauty-queen-8c3x6803lft4. https://iol.co.za/news/africa/2003-12-11-husband-sees-hippo-bite-out-wifes-heart/5. https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/hippopotamus6. https://a-z-animals.com/animals/hippopotamus/what-is-a-hippos-bite-force/7. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/hippopotamus8. https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/hippo9. https://www.britannica.com/place/Zambezi-River/Climate10. https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/facts-about-hippos11. https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2004-01-02-long-road-to-recovery-for-former-beauty-queen/12. Chat GPT was used to enhance this episode
What this episode covers
In the heart of Botswana’s Okavango Delta—where beauty and danger live side by side—two lives were changed forever in two separate hippo attacks in the same month. First, former Miss South Africa Diana Tilden-Davis was guiding her canoe through a shallow narrow channel when the Delta struck. A stressed, starving hippo surged upward, its jaws clamping around her leg, dragging her into a desperate fight for survival. Weeks prior, newlyweds Janice and Bruce Simpson drifted into paradise… and straight into a nightmare. A massive hippo, hidden in the reeds, exploded from the water with unimaginable force—shattering their canoe, and ending Janice’s life in an instant. A dream honeymoon turned to horror. Two attacks. One unforgiving wilderness. And a single haunting truth: In the Okavango Delta, the most dangerous predator… isn’t always the one you see coming...Wilderness Bonescapes Outdoor Saleshttps://wildernessbonescapes.com/outdoor-stuff-on-sale ..Audiblehttps://www.amazon.com/hz/audible/arya/mlpencoding=UTF8&purchaseType=MTRIAL&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dbb68da43653929fb3e8e59c2c5c70fe&language=enUS&ref_=as_li_ss_tl ..Amazon Music Unlimitedhttps://www.amazon.com/music/unlimited?&linkCode=ll2&tag=wildernessbon-20&linkId=dadc11e13b402d23e3446ad1517a5dd4&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl...Sources:1. https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2003-12-25-former-miss-sa-recovers-after-hippo-attack/2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3346735.stm3. https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/hippo-bites-beauty-queen-8c3x6803lft4. https://iol.co.za/news/africa/2003-12-11-husband-sees-hippo-bite-out-wifes-heart/5. https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/hippopotamus6. https://a-z-animals.com/animals/hippopotamus/what-is-a-hippos-bite-force/7. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/hippopotamus8. https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/hippo9. https://www.britannica.com/place/Zambezi-River/Climate10. https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/facts-about-hippos11. https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2004-01-02-long-road-to-recovery-for-former-beauty-queen/12. Chat GPT was used to enhance this episode
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Episode 49: The Delta Hippos Strike Twice
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