The horrifying attack began when two hyenas managed to slip inside the tent through a small opening.
A 27-year-old man has spoken out about the terrifying moment he was mauled by the wild animals while sleeping during a bachelor party — and the desperate fight for survival that saved his life.
Nicolas Hohls had been resting inside his tent at Cape Vidal Nature Reserve in St. Lucia, South Africa, when the predators crept into the camp. He was there to celebrate with his father and close friends as part of a bachelor trip.
Earlier in the day, the group had spent hours fishing before ending the night with food and drinks. Around 1 a.m., they settled into their tents to sleep. But within just half an hour, disaster struck.
Two hyenas forced their way into Hohls’ tent through a tiny six-inch gap in the zipper he had left open for air.
What happened next was the stuff of nightmares. Hohls awoke to find one hyena’s jaws locked onto his face while the other clamped down on his ankle.
“One went for my leg and the other for my face and head. I fought them off by ripping my face and ankle free, then attacking the eyes of one and forcing my hand down the throat of the other,” Hohls told PEOPLE.
Shaken but alive, he recalled how pure instinct drove him to fight back.
“I had been asleep… when I realized what was happening, it was pure instinct. I knew I had to fight to survive,” he said, explaining the two critical actions that saved his life.
“I reacted immediately. I ripped myself free and went straight for their weak points — the eyes and throat. It was all instinct and adrenaline.”
The brutal struggle lasted less than a minute, but it left Hohls covered in blood and severely injured. Hearing his son’s screams, his father Colin rushed to the tent, scooped him up, and drove him to the hospital.
“My dad jumped into action immediately. He found me in a pool of blood in my tent, put me in the car, and drove me straight to Ballito hospital,” Hohls said.
“I’ve camped at Vidal before without problems. That night I left a small gap for ventilation. If the hyenas wanted to get in, they would have found a way regardless, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Doctors treated him with about 30 stitches across his head, hand, and cheek, while deep wounds on his ankle and thigh will take longer to heal.
“I’m doing a lot better… The doctors are happy with my progress, and there’s been no sign of infection,” he shared. “For now, it’s about rest and allowing my body to heal properly.”
His father Colin described the chilling moment to DailyMail.com:
“I heard Nic go to bed then he suddenly started screaming clearly in agony and a hyena had grabbed his left leg and was pulling him out of the tent. A second hyena grabbed him by his head so Nick stuck his left hand into the first hyena’s mouth as deep as it would go and his right thumb in the other hyena’s eye. Nic said they both backed off in shock and then they heard me coming and must have seen the torch and disappeared and when I got there. I never even saw them.”
“It was all over in less than a minute but when I saw Nicolas he was covered in blood and I could hardly recognise him and there was a thick pool of his blood on the floor.”
Following the incident, a spokesman for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, which manages Cape Vidal, urged visitors to be more cautious.
“We are going to catch the hyenas and work out the best way to proceed with them but in the mean time we ask all campers to make sure their tents are zipped up,” the spokesman said. “In the incident at the weekend hyenas attacked a visitor after they had left their tent open following a party and in the previous attack a man nose was badly bitten. It is a wildlife park and we advise all our guests to be very mindful of that.”
