I was swallowed by a hippo that ripped off my arm… here’s what it’s like inside the beast

A SAFARI guide who was savagely attacked by a hippo has revealed how he survived being swallowed by the huge beast. Paul Templer was leading a small safari tour of six people down the Zambezi river in his native Zimbabwe when the life changing encounter unfolded. ReutersPaul was canoeing with a small safari tour when the hippo attacked[/caption] GettyHe explained how he survived being swallowed by the huge beast[/caption] Boating near the country’s famous Victoria Falls in 1996, he jumped to attention when the animal knocked one of his pals out of his canoe. “As I paddle towards him, the hippo was coming towards me under the water and the ripples on top looked like a submarine torpedo cutting through the water,” he told 7 News. “So I turned towards him and tried to grab him, and it was like something out of a movie because our fingers almost touched and then everything just went dark. “It happened so quick, I had no idea what the hell was going on.” Read more on world news ‘WOLVES OF THE SEA’ Watch as 50ft blue whale is eaten ALIVE by pack of bloodthirsty orcas GONE OVER-BOARED Watch bizarre moment 140lb BOAR emerges from Med leaving tourists stunned At this point, Paul realised that he was stuck in the beast’s throat – with no imminent means of escape. He described the hippo’s putrid breath smelt of “rotting eggs” and his throat and mouth were “warm and slimy.” However, quick thinking Paul knew he needed to agitate the animal so it would let him go and spit him.   “I was so far down his throat, and I’m not a small guy,” he described the terrifying encounter. Most read in News CRASH HORROR Two killed & kid seriously injured as car ploughs into family-of-5 on holiday ISLAND BLOODBATH Dad-of-4, 47, shot dead while trying to stop gunman after sister 'stabbed' PUTIN IT ON Putin's war leaves MILLIONS out of work as evil despot covers up chaos WINGING IT Moment plane almost brushes beach as it makes 'lowest landing' at island airport TRAGIC END Mum-of-8 dies after spending years inside hiding her face due to rare disease STRING OF ERRORS I was told my baby was dead then alive, then dead again in doctor blunder “So I managed to grab a hold of the tusks and push myself out, and burst to the surface. However, when the hippo eventually spat Paul out, he quickly swallowed the safari guide again – but this time from the feet first. Despite being armed with a handgun – Paul was unable to reach for the weapon during the relentless attack. He recalled seeing his dying friend in the water before he was swallowed for a second time during a desperate attempt to save him. “His eyes were like saucers. He tried to stay afloat but I think adrenalin literally overwhelmed him,” Paul said. “It happened so quick, I had no idea what the hell was going on.” Paul Templer “So I turned and swam back for him, and just as I’m moving in to grab his hand, I’m hit from below. The safari guide was then trashed around in the water trying not to drown before the hippo eventually spat him out for a second time. “I’m up to my waist down the hippo’s throat. The hippo is just thrashing me around,” he said. “The hippo spits me out again and I start swimming.” ‘TRYING TO RIP APART A RAGDOLL’ But as he swam towards his friends, he saw the hippo charged towards him with its jaws wide open.   “This time my head, neck and shoulders are outside one side of his mouth, and from my waist down is outside the other,” he said. “He just goes bezerk. I remember at one point he threw me up into the air and I did a crazy sort of half twist. “And when I fell back and he caught me in his mouth, but so hard that I thought he was gonna chop me in half,” Paul said “One of the clients said it was like watching a vicious dog trying to rip apart a ragdoll.” Paul later recalled the moment he was then dragged to the bottom of the river – knowing he may not survive. He said: “I remember just lying at the bottom of the river, looking up and I’m waist-deep inside the hippo’s mouth.” “I can see green and blue and the sunlight on the water surface. And when I look around, I can see my blood mingling the water.” LIFE CHANGING INJURIES He was eventually rescued by one of his friends as he was taken to shore and eventually received treatment at hospital. Tragically, his friend who was knocked from his canoe by the beast drowned. Looking back, Paul has described the experience as a “bad day at the office,” despite incurring life changing injuries. Speaking to The Sun in 2018, he recalled how he suffered 39 “major” bite and was forced to have his left arm amputated by doctors. But despite the incident, Paul has used the attack to inspire others as a motivational speaker living in the United States. He has also survived cancer and is the proud father to three children. The hippopotamus kills more humans every year than any other animal in the continent of Africa. The Sun detailed some of the most gruesome attacks as experts labelled it nature’s “deadliest animal”. Paul TemplerPaul, far left, had faced a similar sized hippo on the Zambezi river prior to the attack[/caption] Paul TemplerPaul was forced to have his left arm amputated and suffered 29 major bite marks[/caption] Paul TemplerHe says is lucky to be alive[/caption]