Hippo Mucho

Let us start with a free-association-exercise! I say "Pablo Escobar"! And you immediately think….. drug lord, cocaine, Colombia….. Medellín Cartel? Well done! Still missing something essential.... (for some people, obviously). You guessed it: Hippos! A few weeks ago, a friend (who also got one hippo named after her) asked me whether I knew about the hippos of Pablo Escobar? Excuse me? Immediately, I went on the net and within 0.24 seconds, I got 28,400 hits (I am probably the last hippo-enthusiast on the planet, to find out about them…). A recap: Mr. Escobar had a small Zoo.  After his assassination (December 2, 1993) most of the other animals were captured… except for his 4 hippos, being clever enough to stay in the middle of their pond (I can imagine the scene... tough guys, being told to capture the animals.... looking at those 4 units in the pond... "how are we going to.....  definately not going into the water..... Oh... whatever.... forget it"). The electricity was cut off, not only to the ranch and all the security installations around the “Hacienda Nápoles” but also to the fence, that kept the hippos in their enclosure. Since 1993, these hippos have not only been busy multiplying (there are around 20.... They think…) but also with exploring and getting themselves into trouble, and even being shot at and killed (July 11, 2009).  And it is only going to get worse….. How do you explain that those: all-crops-eating, everything-demolishing, aggressive creatures, are just abandoned pets? I will check on them once in a while, and keep you posted on those wild hippos that are not only in the wrong place but safe to say: on the wrong continent.

Smelly Harry

The remark: "I saw a hippo, and I had to think about you" will not be appreciated by everybody, but for those suffering from hippo-mania, it really sounds very sweet. I am sure this can be used as an indicator, determining the severity of a case. The scale varying from: "I feel depressed and need to go on a diet", to: "thank you, please tell me more!" No need to guess my score...... and I even consider myself very lucky, to hear it quite often. When friends see hippos in the Zoo, on TV, on the internet or in the newspaper, they let me know.  Only when they travel to Africa they give up reporting every single time they see one..... There are just too many! They just mention that they have to think about me all the time (while trying not to sound too tired of that...). A few weeks ago, dear friends were staying at the Mukambi resort, Kafue National Park in Zambia. When they came back from a field trip, this wild hippo was laying in the middle of the restaurant of this resort, taking an afternoon nap. They took a lot of pictures and most importantly: the first photos of their son with a wild hippo! According to the eye witness report, the hippo smelled very, very badly. After a few hours it moved on, crashing through the wooden floor on its way out. The proper way to exit: hippo-style, I would say! Thank you guys, for sharing the pictures and a great story.

Photograph by Mr. Gerard Cornelissen

The First

Every collection has its: first!  And “The First” of Lien’s Hippo Collection is a miniature-hippo (first painting, mug, soft toy, t-shirt, chair and what not….. all those will follow in future posts) named after the person who gave it to me: Tante (aunt) Anneke. Of some hippos in my collection, at some point I forgot who gave them to me, or where I found them, but I will never forget this Christmas present. I would have forgotten on which Christmas exactly I got it though, for sure. The fact that I wrote the date on it makes it possible to celebrate on the 26^th of December of this year (2011): 20 years of hippo-affection! Some friends prefer to call it: hippo-obsession or even hippo-madness… they make it sound more like a disease than a hobby….. Well, it can be a bit contagious, I must say. Some friends complained: “I do not collect them, but everywhere I go I find myself looking for them…. “. My auntie only complained about the fact that hippos were not so easy to find. When she did find one, she was always excited. She would call me and just say: “Lien, I found one!”

Moustache Mummy

The very first post has to be about the profile photo. Let me introduce you to: Dania. She lives in the Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta, Indonesia, together with daddy Jacky, sons Reno and Semar and daughter Donna. As I have become friends with their keepers, I have had the privilege to be allowed in parts of their enclosure which are normally off limits for visitors. It has always been so special to be able to touch them and help feed them (they love sweet potatoes) and make millions of photo's. Unfortunately I do not live so close to them anymore, but this summer I had the chance to visit them during a short holiday. For the first time, I could even step into the cage and come close to the edge of the water. The keeper asked Dania to open her mouth, which she always happily does, and I could take this great photo of her. Although I was a bit scared, and hurried back behind the steel fence as soon as I could, I will never forget that moment. If you are in Jakarta, and you have the chance to go to the Zoo, don't forget to pay this hippo-family a visit!