Sitting in a little plane,
Propeller strained against the rain,
Excited that I got to go,
To search out African hippo!
Should be easy!
Should be breezy!
Hippos cannot hide too well,
They’re large and wide, and soft and tubby,
Even calves are big and chubby…
Park ranger speaking, was in charge..
“Although our hippos are quite large,
Hippos aren’t always found,
They hide real well, it will astound…”
We went searching here and there,
But found no hippos anywhere,
From river water we pound brown ground…
No hippo peep, no hippo sound…
No hippo eyes, or feet, or tusk,
We’d searched all day, from dawn to dusk,
None were seen, none were heard,
Where can you be? It’s quite absurd,
You aren’t little like a bird…
Morning came, grabbed an oar,
Began our rowing, arms were sore,
Hippo searching made me tired,
But I pushed through, I felt inspired…
Then suddenly in front of me,
The size of car or S.U.V,
Floating in the running river,
I observed and felt a shiver,
Like a cruising grey-hued barge,
There was a hippo quick and large!
Came right up, beside my boat,
Words came running, through my throat,
Please be careful, please be calm,
There is no need for your alarm,
We’re here to help, so don’t be stewin’
We’ll protect you river run from ruin…
Hippo seemed to understand,
And watched as we returned to land,
Happy with my hippo tour,
I hope there will be many more…
Native to sub-saharan Africa, hippos are the third largest land animal (after Elephants and Rhinos).
Male hippos (bulls) average 1,500 kg (3,300 pounds) and females (cows) average 1,300 kg (2,900 pounds).
Hippo babies are called calves and can weigh 110 pounds at birth!
Hippos may look like they’d be slow runners (they have short legs), but they are capable of running 30 km/h (19 mph) for short distances.
Hippos are semi-aquatic animals that spend a good portion of their lives in water. Although they look like land mammals, such as pigs, they are more closely related to aquatic mammals such as dolphins and whales.
Hippos are unpredictable in their behavior and can be very territorial. Although they may have a cute countenance, they are one of the most dangerous animals in the world.
A shout-out to the WECHIAU HIPPO SANCTUARY in Ghana where I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks of my life.