Hippo and Baby at Sunset Dam

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Friends,

My companion and I spent two weeks in May in Kruger National Park, a place well known for its abundant birdlife as well as wildlife. The dams are populated by a great number of hippo, often found grazing on the water's edge. You probably know, the species is rather unpredictable and often aggressive towards humans. Cows are great mothers and protect their young fiercely.

You might notice the pinkish tinge of their skin, this is particularly obvious in winter when the species bask in the sun a lot. Hippos have no sweat glands and no scent glands - what they do have, is sub-dermal mucous glands which secrete a viscous, reddish fluid we call 'blood sweat'. As the fluid dries it then forms a protective layer against sunburn and the loss of water, keeping the kin soft and pliable.

Hippos like shallow water, this is because they need to touch the bottom of the dam with their hind legs. They do not swim as such, just propel themselves using their hind legs as well as use their little tail as a rudder. Adults can remain submerged for up to five minutes and they achieve this by dropping their pulse rate from about sixty to twenty beats. They also close their nostrils which have muscles on the edges, as well as fold their ears back.

Babies are born on land or in shallow water but they are able to suckle under water. Adults weigh up to 2000 Kg. The species' lifespan is about fourty years.

Hope I did not bore you with this lengthy introduction... Here's a scene I quite liked because it was taken late afternoon as the light started to fade. The little hippo was very playful and at some stage tried to catch the egret when it flew off its mom's back. This is not the best image from this sighting, I shall post others as I get to process.

Techs:

Nikon D5
Nikon 500mm F4
ISO 5000
F5
0EV
1/2500s


Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week-end, many thanks for viewing and for your kind comments on my previous images.

Warmest regards,