2025-01-19: Hippos

I had originally planned to post some elephant photos today, but I came across one hippo photo that made me change my direction.

Hippos can be interesting to watch and listen to while out on a game drive, but they generally aren’t an animal that a guide specifically seeks out to show guests – at least not on any game drive I’ve been on. Hippos have their typical ponds and pools that they spend time in, so it is usually quite easy to add a drive past the area during a game drive, or stop nearby (at a safe distance, of course) to have morning coffee or sundowners in the evening.

It is very interesting to have the opportunity to see hippos out on land, especially in the daytime when you can really appreciate their size and bulk. Our camp in the Okavango Delta had a resident hippo in the camp that they called Oscar. Oscar wandered around in between the cabins grazing, even during the day. We were lucky to have him hanging around our cabin one afternoon, although the only photos I managed of that sighting were of his butt as he walked away, or when he was mostly obscured by bushes.

Here is my selection of images for the week.

We watched this group of hippos during the downtime between morning and afternoon drives from the deck of our cabin. I’m sure this is the smallest baby hippo that I’ve ever seen. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
A group of hippos heading back to the water, spotted on a boat cruise of the Chobe River. Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
A pair of hippos grazing in the late afternoon, seen while on an afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River. The land in the background in part of Namibia, and farmers had set the fields on fire to burn dead vegetation.Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
A hippo pod at sunset, during a beautiful sundowner drinks stop. Our camp set up a bush bar near this pond, and all the vehicles congregated there to have a few minutes to chat and enjoy some refreshments. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
I spent some time in a hide near a small dam that the lodge kept filled, and watched this hippo. For some time I wondered if it was dead and floating, but it was very much alive and seemingly just enjoying having a peaceful float in the morning sun. Eventually, it righted itself and carried on with its day. Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.

2023-02-25: Hippos on land

While on a day trip to Chobe National Park, our group did both a game drive and a boat cruise, which was similar to my experience in Chobe 2013. In 2013, we saw multiple hippo pods in the river, most with huge numbers of members. On this trip, hippos were another animal that was a rarity, but we did get some good sightings while on our boat cruise of a few individuals, both in the water and on land feeding. Our cruise was in the afternoon and the light was quite harsh, but I still happily varied between snapping photos, watching the scenery, and sipping on a few local beers.

Hippos are impressive in their bulk, and if you have the opportunity to see them open their jaws fully, you can truly appreciate why they are such a dangerous animal. While we can laugh about it now, it really wasn’t a funny situation when our boat stalled in 2013 and drifted dangerously close to a hippo pod. Thankfully our guide got it started and us to a safe distance before anything bad happened.

Here are a few hippo images from my day in Chobe in November, 2022.

A hippo being closely followed by an egret, which feed on the insects disturbed by the movement of the animal.
A hippo with a couple of oxpeckers perched on its back.
A grazing hippo. Chobe National Park, Botswana. November 2022

2017-04-01: WPC Dense

The WordPress prompt for this week is Dense.  Rather than post a selfie (ha ha ha), here are some photos from East Africa that fit in with the theme.

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A crocodile ensures that a group of wildebeest crossing the Mara River stick very close together in the rush to get out of the water.

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A portion of the wildebeest herd tightly packed, waiting to cross the river.

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A pod of hippos sunning themselves in a quieter spot along the Mara River.

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Wildebeest as far as the eye could see.

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A large group of flamingos take flight over the Amboseli Swamp.

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A chimpanzee swings through the lush vegetation of the Kibale Forest.

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A squacco heron almost disappears amongst the dense vegetation at the side of the Kazinga Channel.

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WPC: Dense

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