#Hippopotamus of national zoo

[khalidabdullahz]

বাংলাদেশ ঢাকা মিরপুর জাতীয় চিড়িয়াখানার জলহস্তী | Hippopotamus Of Bangladesh National Zoo Dhaka Mirpur

[nickysfacts]

You could say Billy was quite the famous stud back in the day!😄

🇺🇸💜🦛

[fenrislorsrai]

Indiana Jones helps feed Happy by Smithsonian's National Zoo Via Flickr: April 7, 2009-- Actor Harrison Ford lends a hand to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo animal keeper Jay Tee Taylor (right) to help feed the zoo’s 5,000-pound Nile hippopotamus, Happy. Ford was at the National Zoo in Washington, DC with his fiancé Calista Flockhart and her son Liam. They also visited the lions, tigers, sloth bears and ever-popular giant pandas. Photo Credit: Jessie Cohen, Smithsonian's National Zoo

[deadpresidents]

Do you have a favorite presidential pet?

I've always had a soft spot for President Clinton's dog, Buddy.

Of course, FDR's dog, Fala, was a legend. He's even part of a national monument!

Honorable mention to Calvin Coolidge's pygmy hippo (!), William Johnson Hippopotamus (AMAZING name), but he lived at the National Zoo, so I don't think he really counts as a White House pet.

[cherryblossomshadow]

9 Months Deep Into 2024… Rap Recap 🗓️

Mr. Grande

9 months deep into 2024. Let’s go back, recap once more

January

Katt (katt williams)

Big Foot (naval station norfolk)

Gypsy press tour (gypsy rose)

Aliens

Amelia washed up on shore (amelia earhart)

February

Taylor and Travis at the game (taylor swift, travis kelce)

Drake made a movie

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

One Oompa Loompa and their newfound fame. “The Unknown” brought Glasgow great pain (Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow Scotland)

March

Storytime with JLo (jennifer lopez)

No chick-fil-a sauce (no Chick-fil-A sauce girl, gina lynn)

Bridge hit by the boat (Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, Maryland)

Eternal Sunshine (ariana grande)

Cowboy Carter, let’s go (beyonce)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif: Tic Tac Toe (tiktok)

April

New York City is shaken (earthquake)

Case closed on OJ Simpson

New Tay Tay Kim K diss drop (kim Kardashian, thanK you aIMee)

JoJo Siwa inventing gay pop

May

Billie drops (billie eilish)

Nicki locked up before show (nicki minaj)

Baby wanna go to Four Seasons Orlando

Eurovision

Northern Lights

Portal got naughty (new york-dublin portal)

Bleach blonde bad built butch body (jasmine crockett, marjorie taylor greene)

.

AOC vs Marjorie got wild (alexandria ocasio cortez, marjorie taylor greene)

The met gala had extra questionable style

34, the magic number at the Trump trial (prosecution of donald trump in new york)

Drake got converted to a PDF file (kendrick lamar, kendrick vs drake)

June

Heat waves everywhere like everywhere is Phoenix

Charli and Lorde work it out on the remix (charli xcx, girl so confusing)

Chappell Roan statue (statue of liberty costume, governors ball music festival)

This just in… (justin timberlake, this is going to ruin the tour)

Carpool karaoke with Kim and Putin (kim jong un, vladimir putin)

July

This one’s an EAR full. Where to start?

America becomes an episode of South Park (2024 shooting at a donald trump rally, assassination attempt, thomas matthew crooks)

Simone still GOATed (simone biles, paris Olympics) Joe got covid (joe biden, coronavirus)

Trump got shot, and bro emoted

August

Blake Lively bullied interviewer

Social security no longer secure (2024 national public data breach)

Raygun (2024 Paris Olympics, rachael gunn, raygun_aus, breakdancing)

Mpox (Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, monkeypox)

Very demure (mindful, jools lebron, joolieannie)

Short n’ Sweet (sabrina carpenter)

Bye BRAT summer (charli xcx)

September

Hollywood exposed (p diddy allegations, sean combs)

Climate change grows (hurrican helene)

Submersible is back in the blogs (oceangate, stockton rush)

8 year old goes to target (zoe wilson, tangie)

and bros …

Trump: They're eating the dogs! (presidential debate, abc, donald trump, kamala harris, jd vance, haitian immigrants, Springfield pet-eating hoax)

.

Baby oil sales go down the drain (p diddy, johnson & johnson)

The world got pranked by the king of mukbang (nikocado avocado, nicholas perry, two steps ahead)

A new iPhone (iPhone 16)

And a new moon came (2024 PT5)

All rise for the new supreme Moo Deng (pygmy hippopotamus, khao kheow open zoo, thailand zoo)

.

Cleo fights Ice (cleopatra, ice spice, baby storme, y2k tour)

and Mozart's hot again (wolfgang amadeus mozart, leipzig municipal library, Köchel catalogue, Serenate ex C, Ganz kleine Nachtmusik)

Spray tan MAGA man Missed A Gunshot Again (Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Florida, ryan wesley routh, trump international golf club)

Midwest Princess cussin and shushed him (chappell roan, you shut the fuck up, 2024 vma, mtv video music awards)

SWEAT tour (charli xcx, troye sivan)

Apple war touchin interruption (charli xcx, kelley heyer, apple dance, apple cam)

[somecutething]

White House Pets #6 - Billy - Pygmy Hippo

Billy was a gift given to Calvin Coolidge. It was captured in Liberia and given to Coolidge in 1927. Billy didn’t live in the White House spending most of his time at the zoo in DC. 

Billy was a stud for the DC zoo and fathered over 15 calves. During the time at the zoo he earned a nickname which was William Johnson Hippopotamus. 

Source

[zsl-edge-of-existence]

What’s the connection between the pygmy hippo, a US president, and car tires?  Believe it or not, there is one!  In 1927 Harvey Firestone, founder of Firestone Tires, presented current President Calvin Coolidge with an unusual present; a baby pygmy hippo caught on one of Firestone’s Liberian rubber plantations.  Coolidge, already known as a collector of exotic animals, was delighted with the calf and named him Billy.   

Billy went on to have a long and happy life at the National Zoo in Washington DC (though he also made a guest appearance at the 1939 New York World’s Fair).  He was extremely popular, with the New York Times describing him as “frisky as a dog.”  He had two mates in his lifetime; Hannah, acquired in 1929, and Matilda, acquired in 1940.  Despite some initial difficulties (Hannah and Billy’s first three calves died, likely partly due to the fact that the zoo housed the new mother and baby in the lion house, which greatly increased their stress levels), Billy went on to have an illustrious career as a stud, fathering 13 living offspring with his two ladies.  The zoo began a tradition of naming each calf Gumdrop; one of the Gumdrops can be seen in the third image.  

Billy died in 1955, outliving Coolidge by 23 years.  But he is far from forgotten; nearly all of the pygmy hippos currently living in the United States can trace their ancestry back to Billy.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

The Horrific Story of Ota Benga

Benga was born in the Ituri Forest, in the extreme northeast of the colony, to the Mbuti Pygmies. His people lived in loose bands of family groups of between 15 and 20 people, moving from one temporary village or camp to another as the seasons and hunting opportunities dictated. Benga married young and fathered two children, which put him on track to start his own family and perhaps someday lead a band himself, like the Mbuti had done for thousands of years.

But that wasn’t to be. Benga would never lead his own band.

When he was still a teenager, the eastern Congo erupted into a war that saw mass deportations, raids by Arab slavers, and an invasion by the Force Publique, a Belgian-led occupying army that was manned by the dregs of the colony and commanded by some of the worst sadists Belgium could produce; the Force Publique was originally formed to enforce rubber quotas and beat complainers with hippopotamus-hide whips.

Like many colonial militias, they were corrupt: they raped and murdered villagers, even collecting severed hands and heads. Sometime in the late 1890s, Force Publique “soldiers” found Benga’s family camp and killed his entire family. He was out hunting at the time, so he only got to see the aftermath of the massacre. To a hunter-gatherer like Benga, the family is life itself. Without them, he had the choice of wandering alone until he died, or seeking out a new family group and begging them to take him on as a helper.

However, aside from dying or finding a new family, fate tossed Benga a third option.

A short time after losing his family, he was picked up by slave traders who put him in chains and dragged him out of the forest, which had been the only home he had ever known. They put him to work as a laborer in an agricultural village. It was there, in 1904, that Benga was discovered by, of all people, an American businessman and amateur explorer named Samuel Verner.

Verner had been sent to the Congo on an expedition commissioned by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was planning an exhibit for the St. Louis World’s Fair that would “educate” the public in what was then a racist, pseudoscientific brand of anthropology.

Verner’s job was to find some authentic African pygmies to display as “missing links” in human evolution. Looking at Benga, a lean, very black, very short man with teeth that had been filed into points, Verner knew he had what he needed. He bought Benga for a pound of salt and a bolt of cloth.

Verner’s group promptly brought Benga to St. Louis, where he was the hit of the 1904 World’s Fair.

He and the other captive Africans he had been lumped in with quickly figured out that the crowd wanted to see genuine African “savages,” so they started imitating the dancing and war-whoops they saw the nearby American Indians doing. He made friends with Geronimo and charged increasingly interested visitors five cents to see his teeth. At one point, the National Guard had to be called in to control the crowds because they were getting so large.

After the fair, Benga travelled with Verner and even returned to Africa for a time. In 1905, he took up residence with another Congolese tribe, the Batwa, and married a woman from the tribe. The marriage only lasted a few months, ending when Benga’s wife died from a snakebite. At loose ends again, Benga travelled back to the United States with Verner in 1906. 

Upon returning to the United States in 1906, Benga’s first stop was a spare room at the American Museum of Natural History, where he again “delighted” visitors by pretending to be a babbling half-human.  Everybody at the museum liked Benga, but the director refused to pay Verner the salary he was asking for, so eventually the pair picked up and moved to the Bronx Zoo.

Benga was allowed free movement through the zoo grounds, but his hammock was slung in the primate exhibit. He was displayed as part of the New York Anthropological Society’s exhibit on human evolution. Local black clergy were appalled by the exhibit and demanded Benga’s release, even lobbying the governor to force the zoo to shut down the display. Benga was eventually released into the custody of James Gordon, the minister who had led the charge to free him. He then went to live in Gordon’s black orphanage.

Still unhappy with his life, Benga eventually moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, to live with friends of Gordon named the McCrays. Gordon still managed Benga’s affairs, and he seemed to have definite ideas about how the 27-year-old man should live. Gordon arranged to have Benga’s teeth capped and enrolled him in a school for non-white children. He also got Benga a job at a local tobacco plant, where he seemed to have been popular and told his story for free root beer.

However, by 1914, Benga was planning a final return to Africa. Life in America, he decided, wasn’t for him. With the money he made from the tobacco job, Benga started putting things in order and looking for passage to the nearest port to his homeland. By this time, Leopold II was dead, and the Belgian government had stepped in to clean up some of the mess he’d left behind. Conditions were looking up in the Congo, and it was time to go home for good.

But this return passage was not to be. The outbreak of World War I suspended most cross-Atlantic shipping, and the German occupation of Belgium threw the Congo into bureaucratic chaos, with nobody allowed in or out. On March 20, 1916, depressed at the thought of not being able to return home, Ota Benga shot himself in the heart.

[beware-of-you-98]

The BAU goes to the Zoo

Morale around the office is low after several horrible cases back to back in the span of two weeks

Strauss forces the whole unit to take a few days off because of it

No one is happy about it though

Penelope pitches an idea for everyone to write down where they want to go and to decide, Hotch will draw an idea out of a hat

(He agrees only because he knows the team needs a break)

The first idea he pulls out is a strip club

He looks Emily dead in the eyes as he tosses out the paper

(she pouts because going to a strip club is definitely going to boost her morale so she really doesn’t see why Hotch is so pressed about her contribution)

The next paper Hotch pulls is the zoo

And because everyone knows the person that suggested it is Penelope, they all agree to head off to the National Zoo

Hotch and JJ are very well aware of the chaos that ensues when taking children to a zoo and premptively take Advil to deal with the inevitable headaches that will come from taking this group of federal agents children to the zoo

Emily is a little shit

She makes the “ps-ps-ps” noise to the tiger and is very smug when the giant cat comes right up to the glass

She turns to brag to Morgan about how she gets all the puss

JJ whacks her on the head with a rolled up map because there are children nearby, for godsake!

Emily gets chased around the aviary by a giant fucking bird, screaming and running around in frantic circles as it dives at her

JJ sighs off in the corner, pinching the bridge of her nose because she warned Emily about antagonizing the birds

Spencer mainly just stays silent the whole time, looking in awe at the animals

Derek keeps buying him $10 cotton candy and by the time the team are halfway through the zoo, Spencer is on the biggest sugar high of his life

He wants to pet the hippopotamus and nearly bursts into tears when Hotch tells him that he can’t because they’re too dangerous

He cries when he sees the pandas because they’re so cute

Derek seems bored but really he’s fascinated by the big cats and bears

He is not amused when the tiger comes bounding up to the glass when Emily calls it over (that is one of nature’s most fierce predators, not a damn house cat!)

When Hotch isn’t looking, he buys Spencer all sorts of sweets because it makes pretty boy happy

Rossi sits back and lets JJ and Hotch play parents for the day, enjoying himself as much as he can

He definitely encourages Emily to mess with the giant bird in the aviary

(In his defense, he didn’t think it would go after her so intensely, but his side hurts from laughing so hard watching her, so he doesn’t really care)

Mostly sits at the benches and watches people instead of the animals

Hotch becomes a mega dad™️

He attempts to set up a schedule for the team to follow (they don’t, of course)

His head is stuck in the map 80% of the time

Everytime he looks up, Spencer has some sort of sugary treat in his hands (seriously, who the hell keeps giving this kid more sugar???)

He tries to implement a ban on buying Spencer anymore treats but when he looks up from his map once more, the little shit has an ice cream cone

Ignores Emily’s shit for his own sanity

JJ really does try to enjoy herself

Her main focus is just making sure Emily doesn’t somehow wander into the grizzly bear enclosure or fight the sharks in the aquarium

She becomes annoyed halfway through the day and is enjoying herself significantly less because of Emily’s antics

Emily immediately becomes more serious and calms down because she feels really bad

(Near the flamingos, Emily grabs her hand as an apology and they enjoy looking at the animals with each other)

JJ enjoys the zoo trip a lot more after that

(it’s only a bonus that Emily never lets go of her hand after initially grabbing it)

Penelope is absolutely beside herself

She’s so excited to be here!!! All the animals are so stinking cute!!!!

There’s several volunteers around that have education animals at various spots in the zoo

And Penelope pets each and every single one

Including the giant tegu on a harness (his cheeks are so chubby!! his leash is rainbow!! he’s adorable!!)

She’s also the only person on the team brave enough to hold a massive 8ft jungle carpet python

She thinks the snake is adorable!!! (he has a puppy face!!)

She also holds a baby panda and cries when it plays with her hair because it’s just too cute

Spencer’s favorite animals are the giraffes

(It may or may not be because he gets to feed them and pet them)

Derek’s favorite animal is the polar bear or the rhino

Rossi has a fondness for the aquarium

If it were up to him, they would stay in the aquarium the whole day and he’d be happy

JJ likes the sea otters

There’s a space people can stick their hand into the enclosure and hold hands with an otter!!!!

(She’s the only one that catches Rossi holding hands with one when he thinks no one is looking and swears herself to secrecy)

Emily loves the snow leopard and the tiger (obviously)

They’re the only big cats that respond to her “ps-ps-ps” like Sergio would

Hotch won’t admit it, but he likes the sun bears and the elephants

Penelope loves all the animals

There’s no competition for her

When they leave, they all get something at the gift shop

Derek gets Spencer a stuffed giraffe

Emily gets JJ a stuffed otter

JJ gets stuffed animals for her boys (an alligator for Henry and a lion for Michael)

[Emily pays for them despite her protests]

Penelope gets a fossil necklace and a geode

Hotch gets Jack a book on reptiles

Rossi gets a bear statue for his office

Just as they’re loading up in the van to go back to the office, Spencer’s jacket squaks

Hotch: hey, Reid, what do you got there?

Spencer hugs his jacket closer to his body, bringing up a straw to his lips

A smoothie is his innocent reply, but then his jacket squaks again and out pops a fucking penguin

Like a real, breathing, actual honest to god penguin

Hotch takes it back inside quickly, not even bothering to question how the hell Spencer acquired a penguin to begin with

Emily calls out from the back that none of this would have happened if they had just gone to the strip club in the first place

Emily is suspended for a day

Then Hotch bans the zoo as a destination for the team’s outings

[sciencespies]

Large terrestrial mammals are more vulnerable to the acoustic impact of drones than to the visual impact, study finds

https://sciencespies.com/nature/large-terrestrial-mammals-are-more-vulnerable-to-the-acoustic-impact-of-drones-than-to-the-visual-impact-study-finds/

Large terrestrial mammals are more vulnerable to the acoustic impact of drones than to the visual impact, study finds

Large terrestrial mammals are vulnerable to the acoustic sounds of drones, technological systems which are increasingly used to study the wildlife in open habitats such as the savanna and marshes. This is one of the conclusions revealed in a new study published in the journal Drones, which has been led by the experts José Domingo Rodríguez-Teijeiro, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio); Margarita Mulero-Pázmány, from the University of Malaga, and Serge A. Wich, from the Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom).

Several studies state that drones that are used for scientific and recreational purposes can become a new source of disturbance for many animal species. However, there are still few studies identifying the actual factors associated with these devices that can negatively affect the animals’ behaviour.

Drones and wildlife: opportunity or thread?

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAVs or drones) is becoming increasingly widespread in wildlife monitoring and conservation studies. Obtaining scientific data with a high spatial and temporal resolution, low operational costs, and simple logistics — without compromising the physical safety of researchers — would explain the widespread scientific use of this technology, especially in the study of large mammals in open or inaccessible areas.

The first author of the new study is Geison Pires Mesquita, from the Baguaçu Institute for Biodiversity Research (IBPBio, Brazil), an organisation committed to research, environmental education and biodiversity conservation. The study analyses the reaction of 18 species of large mammals to noise emitted by a drone in the large ex situ areas of the São Paulo Zoo (Brazil).

The 18 species studied belong to 14 families, namely: addax (Addax nasomaculatus); cattle (Bos taurus); waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus); dromedary (Camelus dromedarius); maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus); red deer (Cervus elaphus); sambar (Rusa unicolor); Asian elephant (Elephas maximus); imperial zebra (Equus grevyi); jaguar (Panthera onca); Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris); giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis); hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius); giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla); white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum); warthog (Phacochoerus africanus); tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus).

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Birds and mammals, the most studied using drones

Birds and mammals are the two groups of animals most studied with drones and the most affected by the recreational use of these devices. “Especially, large mammals are the most studied with drones because of their size, as they are easier to identify using aerial images,” says Geison Pires Mesquida, postdoctoral researcher, who included this study in his doctoral thesis defended in February 2022. “In addition to size — he adds — the type of habitat of the species is another determining factor for using drones in wildlife studies.”

The drone survey of wildlife was adapted to the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) regulations, which limit drone flights to a maximum of 120 metres. In addition, all flights were VLOS (Visual Line-Of-Sight) flights, i.e. they were required to be within the pilot’s line of sight. All flights were conducted at times when there were no visits to the zoo in order to avoid any disturbance due to external factors. Audiograms were also available in the scientific literature for 12 of the 18 species analysed — of the same or similar species — allowing for a more specific analysis of the influence of the frequency and intensity of drone-generated sleep.

The flights started at a maximum altitude of 120 metres. Once the drone was over the individuals, it began to descend until the animal showed an atypical behaviour. “A limit of 10 metres above the animals was established if the animal showed no behavioural changes, but in no case did the drone descend to that height because the animals showed behavioural changes at a higher altitude,” says Pires Mezquita.

The Asian elephant, sensitive to low-frequency sounds

In general, species with higher biomass — elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras and the waterbucks — showed a change in behaviour with drones at higher altitudes (and therefore lower decibels). As this group of animals is the most studied on land using drones — especially in open habitats such as the African savannah — terrestrial mammalian megafauna would be more likely to suffer from the effects of drone noises.

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The results reveal that the low-frequency sound pressure level particularly affected the behaviour of the Asian elephant, but not that of the other species studied, which were more sensitive to noise at medium and high frequencies.

“These results explain why the elephant is one of the few mammal species capable of hearing low-frequency sounds (below 0.25 kHz), or infrasound (frequencies below 0.0125 kHz). Both the size of the tympanic membrane and the size of the ossicular chain and the spaces in the middle ear are compatible with sensitivity to low frequencies,” says José Domingo Rodríguez-Teijeiro, professor emeritus in the UB’s Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.

“Low-frequency sounds — the expert continues — propagate more easily due to the physical characteristics of their sound waves than high-frequency sounds. It is believed that elephants can communicate more than 10 kilometres away by emitting and receiving these infrasounds.”

Each type of animal exhibits a specific behaviour of caution, irritation or escape. In addition, animals in ex situ environments — such as zoos — may exhibit even more specific behaviours. For this reason, the study involved the participation of Luan Henrique Morais, the zoo’s head of mammal management. This expert has known each of the animals for years and informed the team if he noticed that any animal was affected by the noise of the drone.

In the case of the Asian elephant, head-shaking movements were observed in the presence of the drone. In the felines, grunting and sudden body movements; in the spectacled bear, sudden leg and head movements. In the case of deer and warthogs, attempts to escape from their location are examples of behaviours that showed adverse reactions in response to the drone noise.

It is noteworthy that “most of the species we studied did not show any behavioural reactions to the presence of the drone at an altitude of 100 metres or higher, which is the altitude at which it usually flies over the ground to carry out wildlife censuses. This confirms that the responsible use of these systems is a low-impact tool for the study of mammals,” says lecturer Margarita Mulero-Pázmány (UMA).

Visual versus acoustic impact

Although this experiment does not allow us to fully discriminate between the effects generated by the impact of the acoustic or visual stimulus of the drone on the fauna, it was possible to indirectly deduce that the first effect caused by the drone on the species is acoustic. This conclusion was reached through the analysis of visual acuity — measured in cycles per degree (c/g) — which determines the ability to detect, discriminate and recognise objects against a background.

“All the species studied have a visual acuity of less than 50% of that of the human species (60 c/g). We can therefore deduce that the first impact caused by the drone on the species was acoustic, if we take into account the reduced visual capacity of the mammals analysed, the difficult detection of the drone used by the human eye at 50 metres, and the fact that the heights at which changes in behaviour occurred were on average higher than 50 metres,” says the researcher.

“According to the available information — the researcher continues — , this is the first time this factor has been analysed. Understanding that drone noise has an impact on some mammal species earlier than visual noise can help to improve current drone studies on these species and minimise the negative effects of recreational use in areas where these species are present.”

In wildlife studies, the sound profile of the drone model should also be considered, it is a factor that has so far not been considered if its negative impact is to be minimised. “Although there are many drone models on the market, there are still few commercial models being used to study wildlife. Trying to understand how much noise these models generate is a necessary step to make the use of drones in wildlife studies more effective,” concludes José Domingo Rodríguez-Teijeiro.

#Nature

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Hippo Internet Dating? It Feels More Like Hippo Harassment.

Buckle up, folks, I’m about to claim my “Professional Buzzkill” title for the year. 

I generally avoid commenting on the PR choices of zoological institutions unless readers ask specific questions, but I’m really struggling with my discomfort over the way the San Antonio Zoo is having their juvenile hippopotamus, Timothy, publicly court pursue the Cincinnati Zoo’s Fiona. The “love letters” that “Timothy” was writing were cute at first, but given the spotlight the #metoo movement has recently put on male entitlement to female bodies and the commonly accepted cultural trope of harassing women until they give consent… the choices Timothy’s PR team is making about “his behavior” after “Fiona” said no are increasingly squicky. 

I know. I know. It’s a hippo - and actually, it’s a human PR team behind a hippopotamus. Saying “this twitter account for a baby hippo is harassing a baby hippo who doesn’t even have a twitter” sounds ludicrous. But hear me out, if you will, because it’s important to remember that Fiona is a major figure at this point for a lot of children (and role model for a lot of disabled kids). How Fiona is treated by other internet figures - especially those “interested” in romance - sets an example for all her young fans of what is considered appropriate behavior towards potential intimate partners. Zoos pride themselves as being family-friendly institutions where children go to learn, but “Timothy’s” reaction to being told no by “Fiona” is modeling a set of behaviors for kids that America is frantically trying to unlearn.

Okay, so here’s the story. It started out super cute and family friendly.

On March 8th, the San Antonio Zoo posted this letter to their Facebook, written in first person from the almost-three-year-old hippo: 

“Dear Fiona,My name is Timothy. I recently moved out of my mom’s house to San Antonio and currently live with my grandma, Uma who I love very much. My grandpa, Tumbo was a cover model for National Geographic magazine. Grandma says that’s where I get my great looks. Anyhoo, I have seen your pictures and videos on the internet at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and I think you are the most beautiful hippopotamus I have ever seen. Perhaps we can meet someday and be boyfriend and girlfriend? I am single and available. I hope you #HippoSwipeRight #TeamFiona Sincerely,Timothy PS, Hippos rule and elephants drool!“

When I first saw this, I thought it might have been a cute PR tactic before an announcement about a breeding transfer. Both the Cincinnati Zoo and the San Antonio Zoo are AZA-accredited facilities, and so both Fiona and Timothy are part of the River Hippo Species Survival Plan. This means that any potential future mates either of them have will be chosen based on genetic compatibility, and who knows, sometimes those pairings are planned out way in advance of the animals actually being of breeding age. This would be a pretty cute way for the two zoos to introduce that topic, if they were actually matched. 

But, on the morning of March 9th, we found out that the relationship is a no-go for now. Cincinnati’s PR team chose to respond with a message written from a human perspective, not that of a hippo. 

“Fiona thinks you’re cute too, but it’s what’s on the inside that really counts! Your DNA will ultimately decide if you are the one for our little diva . She’ll be with her mom for a while, so you have time to consider if you are willing to put up with her fame. Any potential mate would have to be thick skinned and okay with taking a back seat. Are you okay with paparazzi? Are you willing to move out of the way during photo shoots? Most importantly, are you willing to relocate to Cincinnati?”

Tl;dr of the response from Fiona: she’s too young to “date” and it’s not yet known if they’d be a compatible match. While I don’t know at what age breeding eligibility is decided for a hippo, neither of them have a mean kinship score or breeding recommendations through the SSP information available at this time. 

Now, if the “internet courtship” between the two hippopotami had ended there, it would have simply been a super cute PR stunt that potentially could have been revived to the benefit of both facilities when the two animals “come of age.” But it didn’t - and that’s where the problematic stuff started. Instead of utilizing this chance to model appropriate behavior after rejection to the kids who are fans of Fiona, and having the two hippos be friends, the San Antonio Zoo has Timothy double down on his persistent displays of affection - and “his” assumption that Fiona should be receptive to and flattered by his affections when they’re expressed in such a public manner… even after “she” publicly turned him down. 

A twitter account was created for Timothy shortly after this exchange; “his” original letter to Fiona was posted on the zoo’s official twitter account, but on March 12th the zoo announced “Timothy” had joined twitter with his own account. Now that makes total sense, since “his exchange” with Fiona had made him (and the zoo) highly visible on social media. They’d absolutely want to capitalize on that. The first thing “he” did with his account (after a test tweet) … was announce he was sending another letter to Fiona after “her” rejection. Here’s a link to the full letter, but the important part to highlight is that “Timothy” totally refuses to take Cincinnati’s no for an answer.

“Grandma also says at my age I need to spend less time in front of a screen and WAAAAY more time learning and playing outdoors so as much as I want to message you daily I just can’t make it happen. Her roof, her rules blah blah blah.I’m going to tweet to you as often as I can from my new Twitter account. I have to say there just aren’t enough characters available on Twitter or really anywhere else in the universe to express all of my feelings for you. I will do my best to put these feelings into words and will send you a letter or something on Facebook every Thursday at 3:00 pm!” 

…and boy, does Timothy’s account continue to tweet at Fiona as often as possible (during human work hours on weekdays). 

As I’m writing this, it has been less than 48 hours since Timothy’s account’s creation. “He” has posted 37 tweets and replies: 12 of those are reactions to posts about Fiona, either by the Cincinnati Zoo or other twitter users; 2 of those take posts about other animals at AZA zoos and point out they’re not as good as Fiona, 2 take posts from Cincinnati about Fiona and turn them into comments about how “attractive” she is, 3 are direct posts at Fiona (mostly “his” feelings for her), and 4 are retweets of new articles about “their love story” and how “he��� “might have a shot.” One tweet actually conflates the Bachelor with “Timothy’s” interest in Fiona. 

So… 24 of 37 posts on the account - that was only created after the original request for a “relationship” was turned down - are directly about “his” interest in Fiona. (Only 3 things on the account so far appear to be entirely unrelated to her). In addition, starting with the first post about Fiona, Timothy’s account is now using a “relationship” hashtag. That’s not comfortable. Creating a twitter account for a baby hippo that is now visible to the public for PR? Sure, cool. Using that twitter account to continue pursuing another baby hippo who “turned him down” in a very public manner? Not so cool. Especially when the content of the tweets is… pretty representative of the stereotypical manner in which women are constantly harassed on twitter. For instance:

Top Tweet: “Timothy” interprets a post about Fiona just existing in a video as her “being into him.” (He also replied to this post with two gifs as well, one of Squidward from Spongebob making heart eyes and another of a person making the “call me” gesture.)

Middle Tweet: “Timothy” re-frames a post about something mundane to “compliment” Fiona even though it’s totally out of context. 

Bottom Tweet: “Timothy” uses a post talking about a dating TV Show to publicly promote his relationship hashtag with Fiona even though he’s already been told no by “her people.”

If you’re a woman, the types of tweets “Timothy” is posting are probably familiar - because you or someone you know has almost definitely experienced that type of “attention” from a guy who just won’t get the message. And that’s the crux of the problem with how this “hippo internet romance” is evolving: there’s no mutual interest here. “Fiona” - or her handlers and PR staff - is not a consensual part of this interaction. A twitter account created for a male animal is being used to continually exploit the name and internet presence of a female animal to generate media attention, even though the people who are responsible for that female animal’s media presence seem to have made it pretty clear they’re not interested in playing along (through the response to the first letter from “Timothy”, the comments they’ve made on further posts on the San Antonio Zoo’s Facebook page about this “romance”, and their utter lack of engagement with this roleplay). And yet the San Antonio Zoo continues to have “Timothy” completely ignore all these very distinct signals and instead indicate that he’ll keep tweeting frequently and writing love letters to Fiona every week. 

Until… until what? Until the Cincinnati PR staff get tired of being forced into prolonged romantic hippo internet roleplay? Until Fiona is sexually mature - at least six years from now - and is paired with a male? Neither of those are good options, but the way Timothy’s account is being handled really leaves no good way for Cincinnati to choose to disengage without causing a major kerfuffle. And that’s the problem. 

Cincinnati has been put in the same situation here, through Fiona, that women all over the country find themselves in on a regular basis: subject to unwanted, oblivious, persistent affections that are escalated in inappropriate and public ways as a response to a polite rejection.  And yes, it feels really silly to be upset about this when we’re talking about zoo PR staff running accounts for baby animals -  but awareness of and sensitivity to current social movements is crucial when communicating with the public, and especially when it involves the persona of a baby animal that is beloved by children across the nation. American culture is currently very sensitive to ways in which autonomy and consent are subverted, and as a politically-aware adult it’s hard to not notice that “Timothy” isn’t taking “no” for an answer. But kids? Kids who see these tweets won’t understand that the behavior “Timothy” is engaging in isn’t okay. They’ll think that continuing to persistently dog a girl who has rejected them is appropriate behavior, even though that’s exactly the type of “boys will be boys” behavior that our society is currently working to prevent our children from learning. 

The San Antonio Zoo has a wonderful opportunity here to use their hippo’s platform to help model the behaviors we want to teach this next generation of kids - how to handle rejection gracefully, how to view girls as people instead of eventual conquests, how to respect boundaries and notice when enthusiastic consent is not present - but instead they appear to be choosing to perpetuate rape culture tropes because it gets media attention. 

Considering that the San Antonio Zoo actually runs a nature-based preschool on the grounds of their facility, I really would expect their messaging to be more socially aware. I hope that moving forward, they’ll reconsider how “Timothy” is interacting with Fiona - and that “his” future choices will model behavior that parents will want to encourage in their children, rather than attitudes parents want to prevent their children from emulating. I would love to see “Timothy” choose to accept Fiona’s “no” and become her long-distance pen pal and partner in crime, and to see them go on adventures full of childish wonder and free of all ulterior motives. 

[ibrahimfarah-blog]

                                      IQUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK           

          The following essay is my account of the time I visited Queen Elizabeth National Park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is located at fort portal-mpondwe National Park, Uganda. It is one of the largest national parks in the world. In its landscape, it encompasses hotels, roads and spacious land for animals.  According to Creadon (22), Queen Elizabeth National park is amongst the best-known Parks in Uganda. The theme of this descriptive essay will pivot around the park's landscape and the different species of animals at the park.

            To begin with, Queen Elizabeth National Park spaciously sits on seven hundred and sixty-four square miles establishing itself as one of the biggest national parks in the world. The park at the centre has antique hotels that are made of animal skin. The hotels are surrounded by waterfalls and hills. The hotels have a transparent thick outer fence to keep the wild animals away. The park also has sophisticated infrastructures that enable you to see the animals in their natural state

.  

           Second of all, the park variety of species of animals from elephants to different kinds of ants. My favourite was the hippopotamus. The hippopotamus is a colossal animal with thick skin. They have an uncunning resemblance to pigs. Most of them are grey-skinned and all are hairless. Most are land creatures but can survive in an equatorial environment. The other astonishing animal I got to see were the giraffes. The stand taller than ten feet and surprisingly have smooth fur.

         All in all, Queen Elizabeth Park is undeniably one best zoo experiences I had. We got to experience numerous species of animals including couple distinct animals. I would definitely recommend Queen Elizabeth National Park.                                                                                                                                     Creadon, Micheal.   “Traveler’s Advisory.” Time international (Canada Edition).                                     Vol. 150, no. 22, Dec. 1997, p. 2. EBSCOhost, search.ebsc                                   host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=538&site=                                        ehost-live.

Cited from google images.

[wrongarmofthelaw]

Character “About” Sheet: adjust as needed

QUOTE

None.

BASIC

NAME: Fiona Margaret Arabello NICKNAMES: Fi AGE: 31 BIRTHDAY: March 26, 1985 SPECIES: Human GENDER: Female PRONOUNS: She, Her.

FAMILY

MOTHER: Samantha Arabello Nee O’Brennan, deceased FATHER: Robert Arabello, deceased Grandparents: Allanah and Bevin O’Brennan (Maternal grandparents, deceased), Luca and Benigna Arabello (Paternal grandparents, deceased) FAMILY: Various aunts, uncles, and cousins. Matthew Cordell (fiance, father of daughter), Samantha Maria Arabello (daughter). SIBLINGS: None.

PHYSIAL ATTRIBUTES

FACE CLAIM: Heather Doerksen RACE/ETHNICITY: Caucasian (Italian and Irish descent) NATIONALITY: American HEIGHT: 5′8 WEIGHT: 145 lbs BUILD: Tall, slightly muscular. HAIR: Short bob haircut that fits under her motorcycle helmet. FACIAL HAIR: None. HAIR COLOR: Dirty blonde EYE COLOR: Green SKIN COLOR: Fair, tans often due to outdoor occupation. DOMINANT HAND: Left ANOMALIES: Eyepatch over right eye. Eye damaged beyond repair by a gunshot, surgically removed. SCENT: Jasmine perfume. ACCENT: New York accent (Queens dialect). PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: Depth perception is weaker due to loss of right eye. LEARNING DISABILITIES: None. ALLERGIES: None. DISORDERS: Recurring nightmares due to mental and physical trauma during a drug sting sabotaged by corrupt officers. Rage issues at times. FASHION: Casual when not on duty. Jeans and t-shirts during warmer months, sweaters and corduroy pants in the fall. NERVOUS TICS: Rubs forehead with fingers when frustrated. QUIRKS: Takes strange situations in stride, uses humor to get through difficult situations.

LIFESTYLE

HOME ADDRESS: Fiona keeps her address private to protect her family. RESIDES: Sunnyside, Queens, NYC. BORN:  Same as residence. RAISED: Same as residence. VEHICLE: 2013 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Touring motorcycle, a 1974 Plymouth Satellite  patrol car belonging to her fiance when not on duty. PHONE: LG Google Nexus 5X LAPTOP/COMPUTER: Macbook Pro 13 inch 2017 model PETS: Big Dipper (adult German Shepard)

HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION: High School Diploma. COLLEGE EDUCATION: Graduated. from the New York City Police Academy with honors. MAJOR: Criminal investigation. MINOR: Computer programming. CAREER: Police Officer (Motor Officer, New York City Highway Patrol Unit #3) EXPERIENCE: 7 years as a beat cop (2005-2010), 5 years as a motor officer. EMPLOYER: New York City Police Police Department. City of New, York, New York. YEARLY SALARY: $55,356 BADGE NUMBER: 32804 TRAINED IN: Criminal investigation, Conflict deescalation, vehicle inspection, moving violation assessment, computer programming, marksmanship, pursuit of and apprehending suspects on foot, pursuit of vehicles and apprehending suspect drivers and passengers. OTHER: Works as a peacekeeper for the supernatural and science-altered communities of NYC. Vigilante taking on human crime that slips through the cracks.

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: Independent. RELIGION: Agnostic atheist. BELIEFS: Believes in the supernatural due to her many encounters with it. MISDEMEANORS: None. FELONIES: None. (Has committed many, but was never arrested or convicted). TICKETS AND/OR VIOLATIONS: Speeding tickets on a rare occasion when off-duty. DRUGS: None. SMOKES: None. ALCOHOL: Cheap beer, daiquiris, margaritas. DIET: Avocado sandwiches, lean turkey breast, salads, cheeseburgers, chocolate chip muffins, and cannoli as occasional treats. Sprite, water, orange juice, coffee, herbal teas.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Heteromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual MARTIAL STATUS: Engaged CHILDREN: Samantha Maria Arabello (biological daughter) AVAILABILITY: Taken LOOKING FOR: None.

LANGUAGES: English. Some Italian. Rusty in Spanish.

PHOBIAS: Animatronics. HOBBIES: Video games, reading comics, watching movies, going to zoos and parks with her daughter and fiance. TRAITS:  Intelligent, kind, compassionate, loyal, courageous, forgiving, loving, playful, leader/take charge attitude, persistent, resourceful, vengeful, angry, violent, manipulative, brooding, stubborn. SOCIAL MEDIA: Has a Facebook page, but is cautious about what she posts or comments on. Frequents forums for police officers.

FAVOURITE

LOCATION: Her apartment. SPORTS TEAM: New York Knicks GAME: The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim MUSIC: Techno/Dance music SHOWS: Agent Carter, Comic Book Men. MOVIES: Superhero films (particularly the MCU) RADIO STATION: WNYU (New York University) FOOD: Cheeseburgers BEVERAGE: Margaritas. COLOR: Purple

CHARACTER

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good. MBTI: ESFJ-A MBTI ROLE: The Consul ENNEAGRAM: Type 1 ENNEAGRAM ROLE: The Reformer TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine WESTERN ZODIAC: Aries. CHINESE ZODIAC: Ox PRIMAL SIGN: Hippopotamus HOGWARTS HOUSE: Gryffindor. ILVERYMORNY HOUSE: Wampus TAROT CARD: Justice TV TROPES: New York City Cops, Cowboy/girl Cop, Famed In-Story, He/She Knows Too Much, Killer Cop (though her actions lean more towards Vigilante Man/Woman). SONG: Fight The Good Fight -Triumph

IDEOLOGIES: Believes in second chances, doesn’t necessarily agree with the laws she enforces, believes in bending or breaking laws to do the right thing, believes everyone is a person regardless of being biologically human and deserves the same rights and protections as humans.

[oupacademic]

Today is National Hippopotamus Day!

Hippos are large mammals native to Africa. Only two species exist – the common hippo (Hippopotamus amphibious) and the pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis). The common hippo is ranked as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while the pygmy hippo is listed as being endangered. Hippos tend to inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps, though they also go on land to graze. They are short, stocky animals that have slightly webbed feet which they use for swimming. Additionally, their nostrils, eyes, and ears are high up on the head so they can still use them even when almost completely submerged. The name hippopotamus comes from ancient Greek and means “river horse”. Despite their pig-like appearance, the closest living relatives of hippos are actually whales.

In honor of this semi-aquatic mammal, we’ve put together a list of seven facts about the hippo.

Hippos typically have blunt teeth with four principal cusps, but crown surfaces are often wrinkled and complex with up to thirty tiny cusps called cuspules. Their molars also have distinctive cusps, each of which has three lobes, which wear to a rim of enamel, taking the shape of a three-leaf clover. Their canines have been known to grow more than a metre (39.37 inches) in length.

In ancient Egypt, many leaders may have once had to prove their worthiness by leading hippopotami hunts. Eventually these hunts became symbolic, and artwork depicting kings hunting hippopotamuses represented their ability to triumph over chaos. Hippopotamus characteristics, such as lurking just under the surface of water, trampling crops when coming ashore to graze, and their pinkish-red to red color (the color of evil in Egyptian symbolism), led ancient Egyptians to associate them with the forces of chaos.

Based on their morphological traits, hippos have traditionally been classified with pigs and peccaries in the suborder Suiformes. However, molecular data indicates that hippos and cetaceans (which includes dolphins, porpoises, and whales) are actually sister taxa, and therefore more closely related. A 2010 study examined the muscle characteristics of the hind legs of common hippos to clarify their classification, discovering that hippopotamids retain muscles that have been lost in the majority of artiodactyls (animals who bear their weight evenly on their third and fourth toes such as giraffes), thus supporting research indicating an early divergence of the Hippopotamidae from the rest of the Artiodactyla.

Hippos and other large herbivorous mammals have been found to have thicker skin in certain places on their bodies. The reason for this appears to be because of fights between animals of the same species.

There are less than 2,500 pygmy hippos remaining in the world. Pygmy hippos are threatened by loss of habitat caused by rainforest destruction, and inconsistent protections of national parks by changing governments.

Hippopotamuses are very committed to water. Though they go on land to graze on grass, they never feed more than two or three kilometers away from a river or lake. They usually feed during the night and then spend most of the day keeping cool in the water.

The plural form of hippopotamus in English can be either "hippopotamuses" or "hippopotami".

Images: 1) Hippopotamus-1232974_1920 by ddouk. CC0 via Pixabay. 2) Pygmy Hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) at Duisburg Zoo, Germany by Raimond Spekking. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.