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"Hippos are not closely
related to rhinos. A nice way to see this is with their footsteps -
hippos are even toed, like pigs and antelopes, whereas rhinos are odd
toed like horses. So when you go for a walk in a hippo area you may find
two paths side by side with big four-toed footprints. The footprints
look a bit like a maple leaf. The reason there are two paths together is
because hippos are so wide that each side’s feet creates its own path.
Hippos can walk a long way at night; they have been seen wandering the
streets of towns and villages, including places like Katima Mulilo, the
capital of the Caprivi region."
"There is a nice story about hippos. When
God created the world the hippos asked if they could live in the water
because they enjoyed its coolness so much. God was worried though, he
had already given the job of river predator to the crocodiles. He looked
at the hippo’s large mouth and big teeth and feared the hippo would eat
all the fish in the rivers and lakes. The hippo pleaded with God to be
allowed to live in the water. Eventually God said yes on one condition.
They must never eat any fish, just stick to eating grass and other
vegetation. The hippo agreed, and so to this day they regularly show God
they have not eaten any fish. They do this by firstly flicking their
dung everywhere with their little tails. This way God can see there are
no fish bones in the droppings. Secondly, when sitting in the river they
open their mouths wide to the sky to show God there are no fish in their
mouths. Lastly they always come out of the river at night so God need
not worry they are eating fish in the dark when he can not see them." |
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