Do you pay equity rates?

Hippo, originally uploaded by andyskelton-a Blog a day http://andrewskelton.net.

Let’s hope tomorrow is as good as today, and I’ll be in a great mood going into the holiday, though the prospect of sitting in the car for 5 hours is not something i’m looking forward to. I know, I know, 5 hours is barely enough time to cross one state in the USA, but to those of us in the UK, it’s like… crossing several counties! And if you’re from Norfolk, well you fall off the end of the world! (to anyone from Norfolk, sorry, I love Norfolk and would move there in a flash i f (or should I say when) my photo-blog-teach-print-talk business takes off – so please don’t take it personally).

Aren’t Hippos and odd creature? If you were designing them from scratch i doubt you would couple such a massive frame, with such dainty feet (I know that sounds ridiculous but it’s true!), fast speed, incredibly dangerous and nervous that only eats vegetation! Today’s batch of photos were taken at the Masai Mara crossing where the BBC filmed that memorable sequence of wildebeest and zebra migrating across, and being preyed upon by unfeasible large Nile crocodiles. The BBC weren’t present, but we did manage to see a crocodile, albeit a small one, as well as a bloat (collective noun for Hippos) of Hippos (see, I told you it was Hippos).

All the hippos I’ve ever encountered, as mentioned, have been incredibly nervous and flighty animals, with the exception of one group who were in Bangkok Zoo. The zoo itself is a wonderful oasis of lush green foliage as well as vivid colour flowers and heavenly scents emanating from them (I particularly remember the jasmine aromas to this day) amongst the hustle and bustle of a major capital city. The walk to the zoo in the high heat and oppressive humidity was an ordeal in itself – but once inside the grounds we were able to shelter from the glare of the sun, sheltered by long established trees and bushes. One of the first enclosures we arrived at was the pygmy hippo followed by the “full grown version” in the adjacent pen. The regular sized hippos were lazing in their enclosure totally unperturbed by the presence (and noise) of the public, and when one of the keepers sidled up to the side barriers surrounding their pen with a couple of loaves of bread, these normally shy and retiring creatures made a beeline for the keeper with the food. I
did manage to get some photos, one of which has been posted to Flickr but you’ll have to look a long way back to find it – and it’s poor by today’s comparison but it was the best I could do at the time.