Hippo homage

Hippos command respect. They are one of the world’s largest, heaviest mammals. They kill more people in Africa each year except for mosquitoes and fellow humans. They can lumber at 35 km/hour even with such impressive bulk. They will trample and bite anything that gets between a) land and their aquatic refuge and b) a hippo mother and calf. They are interesting in evolutionary terms for having successfully colonised rivers and lakes as safe havens, where they are untouchable save for the occasional rumpus with a crocodile.

Today we canoed this river for around 35km from an area called Chipaputa to the Conservancy headquarters at Miuro. It was lovely and serene, except for the very real danger posed by hippos. We encountered around 30 through the day, snorting huffily in small pods, plopping into the water from muddy banks or eyeing us suspiciously as lone sentries in the middle of calm stretches. These latter beasts tested the nerves most often as when they emerged without notice we had to paddle frenziedly to change course. With wide berths they don’t act aggressively, and merely engage in bovid-like aimless staring. We’re mandated to think of tourism ideas for Chuilexi, this zone of Niassa. Wildlife viewing by canoe isn’t possible when the water drops further as the frequency of hippo encounters increases. It was manageable as it was, with just the occasional moment of mortal fear and sweaty paddling.

Bronzed and muddy we arrived back at camp. I sat with Adrian around the fire, continuing to harvest his feedback from this visit in his capacity as funder and member of the board. These are extremely useful insights and I’m appreciating this time immensely.

Formication is a new word I learnt today from Adrian, who is a doctor by profession. Unless he was pulling my leg, which is highly likely, it means the sensation that ants are crawling over the skin.