The 27-year-old’s father Colin was woken by the sound of screaming and fighting outside.
“A second hyena grabbed him by his head so Nic 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.”
Nicolas Hohls survived a brutal hyena attack over the weekend. Photo / Colin Hohls
While Colin never saw the hyenas, he witnessed the immediate aftermath of their attack on his son.
“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.”
The 55-year-old rushed his injured son to Netcare Alberlito Hospital at around 3am.
Hohls received 30 stitches in his face and a further 40 across his hands and legs.
A spokesperson for the park’s management, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, said they were aware of the mauling.
“We are going to catch the hyenas and work out the best way to proceed with them but in the meantime we ask all campers to make sure their tents are zipped up.”
The spokesperson alluded to Hohls’ decision not to zip the tent all the way up in their comments.
“It is a wildlife park and we advise all our guests to be very mindful of that.”
But Colin told the Mirror that Ezemvelo KZN had not contacted him about the incident.
He said the family had been camping there for 20 years, but wildlife in the grounds had become more of a problem in recent years.
A hyena den was reportedly discovered behind the campsite last month after another camper had part of his nose bitten off.