Hippo

[wildjohn]

I had one (1995) from water though- was canoeing Fish river (Double Drift GR, E Cape,recent reintroduction), and was sidling along reeded fringe to birdwatch a bit & reeds suddenly parted and hippo stormed at us & lucky for us it dipped beneth the front end of canoe and arose in middle of waters- the canoe merely tipped abit, though our hearts and bowels were more turbulent...

Yes, I needed weeping wattle leaves too.

wj

[arks]

I watched a really interesting program on Hippo's today. It showed the hippo's eating a Zebra which was taken from a crocodile. The hippo bite the crocodile twice to convince him to move off. Really very interesting stuff. Has anyone seem this behaviour?

I saw a hippo doc (Hippo Beach) last night that showed similar behaviour, only what they nicked from the crocs was a buffalo. It was new behavious to me, and apparently uncommon but not unknown. Also interesting how much time hippo actually spend out of water.

@W@H: great pix, but perhaps not so unusual as we think.

[Johann]

During my trip in June we saw hippos out of the water at almost every dam or river during our drives. From Punda all the way down south to Croc Bridge.
Found it strange at the time, can't remember ever seeing so many hippos out of the water. But, then again, can't remember going to the Park that often in winter. Maybe that has got something to do with it. Air temperature maybe not so high that they need to cool in the water all the time

[wildtuinman]

I visited the Park mostly in winter times and for me it is no surprise. So I agree with you Johann.

[Elsa]

It is not unusual at all for hippo to come out of the water during the day as our chalet at Ngwenya is close to the hippo pool in the Crocodile River and there were upwards of 15 resident hippo living there who would all get out of the water at about midday (this being June, not sure if they do this all year) and lie sunbathing in a huge mass for a good few hours before returning to the pool. They would do this every day.

[Jumbo]

As a matter of fact I was charged twice by hippo. All I can tell you was that the story "never get in between a hippo and water" is true. We drove on the "highway" in May 2003 about 20km north of Lower Sabie. It was about 9:00 in the morning. We were heading to Lower Sabie.

We stopped to look at a hippo in the road about 100m infront of us. All of a sudden another hippo came bursting out of the thickets on the right hand side of the road. It bulldozed it's way past us towards the Sabie river with such a speed that I only realized after what felt like 10mins later that it was a hippo. It passed by us a mere 10m.

WTM, we almost had the same experience this past weekend just north of the Sunset dam at Lower Sabie in the middle of the day
Luckily I was driving below the speed limit and the ABS was working. A hippo charged out of the thick vegetation next to the road at full speed cant say how close it was except VERY close. There was no way for us to see him coming and he was over the road in seconds.
He was full of fresh wounds obviously been fighting.
This was the closest I have ever been to hitting an animal. If we were travelling 50km/h we would have collided with him.
Afterwards we first had to stop to calm the rubber legs.

[Elsa]

A couple of years ago while staying at Olifants Camp we saw how a hippo had attacked and put the big night drive vehicle out of commission.

The whole front of the vehicle, bull bar and all had been bent so badly that it had to be towed into camp that night.

Thankfully we were not on that night drive.

I hate to think what a fully grown Hippo could do to an average sedan.

[bucky]

Not sure what its carrying capacity is , but a major drought could see them in big trouble .

With the ever rising external pressure and water usage on the rivers outside of the park ,and rivers such as the olifants going dry due to that (Which never used to happen) , I would consider the hippos habitat as being threatened .

[Katja]

Just 12 years ago the Common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) was widespread and secure, but substantial changes in parts of its range have moved it into the Vulnerable category. Hippos are primarily threatened by illegal and unregulated hunting for meat and ivory (found in the canine teeth) particularly in areas of civil unrest. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the political conditions arising from more than eight years of fighting have decimated the local hippo population: only 5% remain. To add to the list of threats, the 1989 elephant ivory ban led to a sharp increase in illegally traded hippo ivory and water diversion for agriculture and development around wetland areas is impinging on habitat. As pressure on freshwater resources in Africa grows, hippos are increasingly coming into conflict with human populations and the future of their habitat appears murky at best.

[Elsa]

Is Crook's Corner the place to see those infamous hippos in Pafuri?

Yes, Leo, I'm sure you will find some there but really they are to be found more or less all over Kruger, all along the big rivers and anywhere near suitable water.
Sunset Dam near Lower Sabie has a large number that are there permanently.

[Leo Brodsky]

it looks as though they are such gentle animals when they swim past with there young.

Looks can be deceiving! I remember a researcher described them as "pure evil." She'd been studying them for quite a while.

There was a series of pictures I saw taken at Pilanesburg. Wild dogs had chased a waterbuck into a lake and it took refuge on a small island when a hippo mum - with calf in tow - came to deal with it. The poor waterbuck tried to flee but to no avail.

For some reason they're more interesting - to me anyway - than they would be if they were cute and cudly!

[pictureman]

that didnt stop one 'marking his territory' over one of the tents!!!

You mean they stepped on the tents?

took off from a standing start for the lake at such a rate of acceleration i would not have believed had i not seen it.

That's the 3rd post to mention hippo speed on this thread. I knew they were faster than us but this sounds incredible!

No but probably worse than that...have you seen them 'marking their territory' in the water?? well it did THAT over the tent ! poor bloke was not allowed to pitch near anyone else for a few days !!

And Believe me that hippo was really fast !! I knew *** and elephant could move when required but that hippo...boy that was something els!!

[Meandering Mouse]

I have never seen as many hippo as I did on my last trip. Certainly, the winter months are great for hippo sightings.
Thing is, I think I was witness to one of the most amazing hippo experiences.
I went to Lake Panic for a reflective moment. I stayed for a little while.... when suddenly it sounded like hell had come to earth.
I thought it was ellies having temper tantums or panic attacks..
then out of the underbrush a group of hippos came charging into the water. There were about 10 hippo in the group.
A few seconds later the next group came... then the next group.
One of the tourists taking pictures said she thought that there must have been about 30 hippo.
Imagine the sound, the visuals...
does anyone know more about this behaviour?

[Elsa]

In February this year while sitting peacefully at L Panic, several of the Hippos suddenly and without warning started chasing each other fairly aggressively up and down the length of the lake causing near tidal wave conditions.
We never got to see what started the commotion but if you think they are fast out of the water you want to see how quickly they can get from one end to the other in the water.
Then just as quickly as it all started, it ended and peace reigned once again altho it took a long time for the water surface to settle.

[Wild about cats]

At Nthandanyathi Bird Hide in April, I saw a hippo that was no more than 2 days old. I was sooo adorable!

The day before, the mother was showing huge territoral yawns to protect it.