WATCH| Hippos waddle in peace while St Lucia is in lockdown

While residents of St Lucia remain in lockdown, nothing has stopped the hippos living around the popular KwaZulu-Natal holiday spot from taking their evening strolls.

The town was in the spotlight recently when a French tourist who tested positive for Covid-19 visited, prompting the local ratepayers' association to sanitise high traffic areas in a bid to protect residents.

They took care not to spray areas where wildlife, including hippos, tend to graze.

St Lucia is part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, which is home to between 800 and  1,000 hippos.

On Sunday night, local Marie Stubbe — who regularly captures footage of hippos wandering around the town — spotted two hippos casually strolling by the lodge she is staying at during the mandatory 21-day lockdown.

“While doing my rounds at Lakeview Cabanas — the resort I manage and where I'm staying during the lockdown — I saw the hippo coming out from the lake and crossing the main street.”

Stubbe immediately whipped out her phone to capture the sight.

The video shows the hippo slowly walking down the road, while another hippo is ahead of it.

“They were out to graze in town. This is a regular sighting in our little town. I'm sure they are ever so happy to wander around without the paparazzi around them.”

Tourists who flock to the town are known for capturing footage of the hippos waddling around.

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