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Hippos

Mara River
Masai Mara, Kenya
August 23, 2018

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Hippos proved to be the most elusive of the big animals we were looking for. (Everyone talks about "The Big Five*," but that dates from hunting days. My own list totalled up to more like 12**.) But Joel found some for us on the Mara River, at the far southern edge of the Masa Marai, near the border with Tanzania, where the Mara becomes the Serengheti.

We got to see a mother teaching her newborn how to swim. Our ranger guide said the newborn was only one day old. Still, mom wouldn't let him or her get out of the river without a little more practice than they wanted.

Being a ranger in Africa is an altogether different kind of job than it is in the US, one that requires you to carry a military grade rifle.

* Traditional Big Five: lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, cape buffalo
** My Dozen: giraffe, elephant, lion, rhino, hippo, zebra, leopard, cheetah, crocodile, african buffalo, wildebeest, ostrich