I don’t know quite what to make of this. The only thing I can say for certain is that I really want that hippo. I can totally see myself driving that thing around my neighborhood.
Farmers in Gambia probably would not appreciate our Hippo Mojo website and business. They are too busy fending off real live hippos from their rice fields. But it’s not just hippos: bush pigs have also invaded and destroyed crops in at least 26 Gambian villages.
This is devastating news for rice farmers, as most depend on harvested crops to feed their families and to meet living expenses. For over two centuries, rice has been a staple food in Gambia, although much of the supply is imported.
Human population growth in Gambia has forced farmers to expand cultivated areas well into hippopotami territory. Likewise, an exploding hippo population is pushing back. Result: conflict. Luckily for the hippos, it’s illegal to kill them in Gambia. The nation’s officials are looking for a solution that will benefit everyone. Yeah, good luck with that.
This is a difficult situation and one that I fear will end badly for the hippos. When it comes to humans vs. animals, it seems the animals always lose. Recently a hippo in Niani was shot and killed by a French national who was staying in hunting camp. See the article below. No mention was made of why the hippo was shot – was it really menacing humans or crops or did the guy just feel like shooting something? I love the shot of the hippo chasing the guy down the road.
Hippo Killed In Niani
One good solution might be to try to shift the focus of the crop trampling from hippos to pigs. Certainly pigs cause more damage – after all, they ARE pigs! If we could just get the hippos to lay low for a while and incite the pigs to stick their tusks into a few farmers’ behinds, the resulting outcry of anti-pig protest would surely overshadow any petty crimes committed by hippos.
It could work.
Read more:
Gambia News: Gambia hippos destroy crops
SoS Kotu Cham on hippo invasion
You might think that hippos have always been herbivores. So you might be surprised to know that once upon a time, hippos ate meat. They were particularly fond of fish, impala, and egret. One day, the king of the hippos got some meat stuck in his teeth. He shook his head but he couldn’t dislodge the meat. He pawed at his mouth with his fat, round feet but he couldn’t dislodge the meat. He scraped his jaw along a rock but he still could not dislodge the meat.
A porcupine waddled by.
“Say there, fellow porcupine!” hailed the hippo. “Where do you go?”
The porcupine replied that he was on his way to the market to sell his quills to the fisherman.
Quills! The hippo thought that a sharp, pointy quill was just the thing he needed to poke the meat from between his teeth. He asked to borrow one.
The porcupine agreed but requested that it be returned on his way back from the market.
As the porcupine waddled away, the hippo dug into his mouth and just as he got the meat out, he swallowed the quill.
The hippo was frantic. He must return the quill to the porcupine! He decided to try to poop it out. As he pooped, he spun his tail very quickly, thinking that if he could scatter his dung, it might be easier to find the quill.
Alas, he never found it, and to this day, the hippo still hides from the porcupine because he cannot return the quill he borrowed. He stills spins his tail when he poops in an attempt to find the long lost quill. And he no longer eats meat in case it sticks in his teeth again because he cannot borrow another quill. So now the hippo only eats grass.
May 20, 2009 by Hippo Honcho · 1 Comment
Filed under: Hippolarious
Social Tagging: Animation • Video
Filed under: Hippolarious
Social Tagging: Animation • Video
I don’t even have anything to say about this:
May 19, 2009 by Hippo Honcho · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Hippopotamania
Social Tagging: Pygmy Hippos
Filed under: Hippopotamania
Social Tagging: Pygmy Hippos
Here is a nice little video of pygmy hippos:
These little fellas just tickle me. They are really cute, especially their funny little feet.
May 18, 2009 by Hippo Honcho · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Goods & Sundry
Social Tagging: Jewelry • Necklace
Filed under: Goods & Sundry
Social Tagging: Jewelry • Necklace
Purple Hippo Necklace
We are pleased to offer our first necklace here at Hippo Mojo. It’s all about purple! A cute semi-precious stone hippo with a coordinating stone below it is complemented by glass and silver beads. We also have matching earrings!
May 17, 2009 by Hippo Honcho · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Goods & Sundry
Social Tagging: Chocolate
Filed under: Goods & Sundry
Social Tagging: Chocolate
One thing we don’t carry here at Hippo Mojo is chocolate. That’s not because we don’t like it! On the contrary, we LOVE chocolate. The more, the better. But it’s just not practical to ship it anywhere. And besides, we would probably eat up all the inventory before we had a chance to ship it. Then if someone ordered some, we would have to substitute some other kind of food item, like maybe an apple or something.
But lucky you if you live in the UK. Because there you can order chocolate hippos to your heart’s content. Theobroma Chocolates sell hippos!
Chocolate Hippos from Theobroma
Or you could do what I do: visit your local chocolate confectionery and ask them to make you a hippo. If they have a mold, they will probably make you one. Mine makes me chocolate hippos regularly. Usually I eat them before I even get them home but you don’t need to know that.
Now, if anyone wants to send us chocolate, we would be happy to receive it. Don’t forget: chocolate is a bean and beans are vegetables, therefore chocolate is a vegetable. I tell myself this every day.
Many thanks to Theobroma for permission to use a photo of their chocolate hippos.
May 17, 2009 by Hippo Honcho · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Hippos on the Loose
Social Tagging: Kenya • Lake Naivasha
Filed under: Hippos on the Loose
Social Tagging: Kenya • Lake Naivasha
As water levels in Lake Naivasha are dropping to alarming levels, resident hippos are facing death as they have been marooned from the main lake. Hippos depend on water to hydrate their bodies; without an adequate supply, they die.
Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake north west of Nairobi, in Kenya.
May 17, 2009 by Hippo Honcho · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Goods & Sundry
Social Tagging: Earrings • Handmade • Jewelry
Filed under: Goods & Sundry
Social Tagging: Earrings • Handmade • Jewelry
Tiny Hippo Earrings
These cute ceramic hippo beads are hand painted gray with red and white details. They dangle from silver lever-back earrings with coordinating accent beads. These earrings go with every outfit and make a wonderful gift item for your favorite hippo fan.
May 16, 2009 by Hippo Honcho · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Zoo Watch
Social Tagging: Byculla Zoo • Shakti
Filed under: Zoo Watch
Social Tagging: Byculla Zoo • Shakti
On April 24th, a male hippo named Shakti died at the Byculla Zoo. The zoo has a history of mismanagement and animal mistreatment, angering animal activists and welfare groups.
The zoo is looking at a modernization plan which will provide better facilities for its animals.
More reading:
A plagued past; Byculla zoo now pins hopes on makeover
BMC to go ahead with zoo upgradation plan
Blood, stool sampling on at Byculla zoo
‘Why is hippo death big news when humans die after best treatment?’
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