As many of you already know, a few years ago, I had the amazing opportunity to spend a lot of time up close and personal with the hippo family in the Ragunan Zoo of Jakarta, Indonesia. At first glance this photo of Jacky, the Hippo Dad of the family, does not look very appealing, but it is a very interesting close up, so let me walk you through some of its details.
If you look closely, in the upper left corner, you can see a few drops of the red "natural sunscreen", sometimes referred to as "blood sweat" but it is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion produced by the hippo's skin does not only work as sunscreen, but it also makes sure disease causing bacteria can't grow. In the middle at the top of the picture you can see some cracks and bumps on Jacky's skin.... telling that he is not a very young hippo anymore.
The light brown dust on his head is not sand or saw dust... but rice husk. The Zookeeper feeds the hippos huge amounts from time to time, just to give them something extra besides the grass, fruits and vegetables, to diversify their diet.The only disadvantage is that this stuff is rather difficult for them to eat.... demonstrated below by Reno, Jacky's son. They scoop it up with their mouths, then throw their heads back.... at the end of their meal it is definitely time for a bath!
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