St Lucia Estuary has a new kid on the block in the form of a hefty young female hippo that has been showing her face in the northern Zululand coastal resort over the past month and has become a new attraction in the area.

At the same time the conservation authorities have cautioned the public and visitors not to provoke the animal, said to be about three or four years old.

Wetland Park Authority spokesperson Pontso Pakkies said Sandy, as she has been named by a local resident, had been spotted grazing around a holiday home complex and walking around other parts of St Lucia.

Sandy has resisted attempts to capture and relocate her, prompting experts to ponder a number of "passive" capture techniques to move her to a more appropriate location.

Hippos are not easy to capture because they are known to run into the water and drown if darted. "The hippo has not shown any signs of aggression yet, but we are concerned about its safety and that of the public and are trying to come up with the best way to capture it," said a park official.

"We are warning the public not to approach the animal."

Source: http://www.iol.co.za