Brother and sister, living in the Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta, Indonesia. The eldest son and daughter of Dania (see post: Mustache Mummy). I made this photo during the same photo shoot, in July 2010. They are the first hippos I touched in my life. While they were eating grass and all sorts of fruit and vegetables, I could touch their ears and stroke their noses. I was very surprised about how "tough" they felt. I expected them to be much softer, somehow. All this while my ears almost fell off, because of the noise they made... munching away! Reno (photo - right), is about 9 years old. Always the first to come out of the water and open his mouth... begging for snacks. You can easily recognize him, because of his scars. His father (Jacky) attacked him, when he was small. Donna (photo - left), about 7 years at that time, is a bit shy but like her brother, very sweet. The hippo-enclosure in the Zoo is very large and nice. It is divided in 3 parts. The biggest part is occupied by Daddy Jacky. Every time I visited, Jacky was hiding under water. Only at feeding time, he comes out. He likes to climb up the fence and chew on the iron bars. It is very funny to hear the keeper (Mr. Budi) shout every time: No Jacky! No Jacky! Go down! Jacky does not really listen... but then, how do you train a hippo?? The second part has an outdoor area and an indoor area with pool and garden-hose-shower! This is where Mummy Dania and her youngest son Semar are staying. The third part has a large pool, where Donna and Reno live and play together. I miss them all very much. How can you not love hippos when you see these sweeties?
No comments:
Post a Comment