Escaped hippos give Siberian fishermen a scare

MOSCOW (AFP) - Two Russian anglers quietly sharing a vodka as they waited for fish to bite in a Siberian river fled for their lives when two hippos broke the surface and shattered the peace of a summer day.

Malvina, the female hippo, and her companion Kenigs had escaped from a zoo at Bolshaya Rechka, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Omsk, Itar-Tass news agency reported Tuesday.

The terrified anglers sped to the village, one on foot, the other by bicycle, and alerted zoo keepers, who found the animals quietly grazing in a field.