| Rosalynd from Massachusetts |
| It would be great to see a photo of Owen, Cleo and Mzee. We miss 'em! (Sadly, a young friend of ours who had been ill for a while just passed away and - in times of sadness like that - I find myself really comforted by the story of Owen's rescue from the sea - hope from hopelessness & etc.). |
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| Matt From Canada |
| Wow.. things are looking good...well done blogger |
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| Allen also from Switzerland |
| You are welcome Jackie. Just make sure that the NGC is the english version from UK and not the German version (the english documentaries on NGC seems to be more interesting than the german NGC).
To answer your question, according to my understanding, no he was not able to get sweat from the wild hippo and he had to give up. However, he was able to get sweat from the captive hippo.
He got close enough to wild hippos but they passed by him on the opposite side to the one on which he was waving his sweat stick.
The final indignity came when his hippo armour sunk fast in the mud and he had to be rescued. "That's when I realised the suit was just too heavy and I had to give up my experiment," said Dr Barr.
Here is the link to the story about the sweat:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/28/eahippo128.xml
Would have been hilarious if one of the hippos got attracted to the fake hippo and started chasing it.
So what's next? Dr Barr dressed as Superman or Batman??
According to my knowledge, there are two rainy seasons in Kenya. A short rainy season in November and a longer one that usually lasts from the end of March in to May. |
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| jackie from switzerland |
| I also don't have National Geographic tv here but am able to get it, will consider the investment (thanks for the tip, AM). I did watch the trailer and have to agree with Daria that the whole procedure seems to have been a bit hysterical. Question: were they able to get the sweat sample they were hoping for? And now? Sabine - thank you for the info about Kauz - wow, you raised him from a little ball of fluff (what a cute picture comes to mind) to a gorgeous adult (?) owl. This entire bird entry is lovely and interesting, the photograhs are so pretty. How are our beloved ones doing? (Owen, Mzee, Potty, Sally, Cleo, etc.). When does the rainy season start in your area? |
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| David from Paris, Europe |
| Thank you for the information Daria. I don't regret anything. |
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| Connie Bflo NY |
| Thank you for the lovely pictures. Always a pleasure viewing this site. |
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| Sue from Michigan USA |
| Your bird pictures are so interesting and beautiful. Thank you for your efforts in getting the pics and info to us. |
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| Rosalynd from Massachusetts |
| Thanks for the report, Daria. I won't bother to sign up for NatGeo just for that now. |
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| Daria from Boston, MA |
| Hi all - sorry to post again, but I watched "Undercover Hippo" on National Geographic and it was pretty much a bust. They kept stressing -and showing -how dangerous hippos are, the host kept shouting a lot and getting himself stuck in situations where the game wardens would have to rescue him at great danger to themselves. All this to collect a sample of wild hippo sweat for chemical analysis. There was a little bit about hippo behavior (aggressiveness of course) and one interesting part where they measured the bite pressue of a female hippo (2000 lbs psi), but that was sad because it was filmed in a zoo and the conditions were not that great - it made me rejoice that Haller Park exists and that at least 4 hippos have a great place to live! So, bottom line, you didn't miss much. |
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| oyama naku |
| NOTE TO WEBMASTER: it's true what people are saying. There is a one leftmost column of 'i' and one would think the page is blank. I was truly sad that this came about. I kept going to the blog and everyday it was the same with the 'i's on the left of the screen. UNTIL.....my brain clicked and suggested I scroll down. NOW I AM HAPPY TO SEE ALL THE ANIMALS' PICTURES AND INFORMATION. Please webmaster, am sure alot of people still had not discovered that to SCROLL down is to see the blog. PLEASE FIX. |
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| Patricia - Editorial Team |
| Hi fellow bloggers thanks for your wonderfull comments they always make blogging a joy. We are trying to resolve the problem with the blog ASAP |
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| Rosalynd from Massachusetts |
| Hi, David - I set up to tape that special, went to watch it and the screen was blank. That's when I discovered that National Geo was not part of our cable package! If I see it on again, I'll get the upgrade so I can access it! |
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| David from Paris, Europe |
| Very nice update. I like a lot the birds pics. The geese family is so adorable. Haller Park is a animal's heaven, definitely. Thank you for sharing... Rosalynd, I have seen a trailer of the "Man who pretends to be a hippo". Amazing ! Unfortunatly, I cannot get this channel where I live. I suppose the TV-Show should be interesting. There is a video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECNxBhkS6jw ... Looking forward for the next update :) |
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| Melanie |
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| Melanie from Arcata CA |
| hmmmmm...what happened to my comment. Continued: should begin with |
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| Melanie from Arcata CA |
| WEBMASTER - there are a series of i's and breaks at the top of the code. The code should begin with |
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| Daria - from Boston, MA |
| NOTE TO WEBMASTER: Your page is not displaying properly and almost looks like it's not there - a row of i's goes down the left side. People may think you're gone! Thanks! |
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| Rosalynd from Massachusetts |
| Sabine - Kauz is "still your friend?" Lucky you - he's gorgeous! You guys have been very straightforward with sharing some of the challenges and difficulties of your work - thanks for sharing some of the singular pleasures too! |
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| Sandy from Dallas |
| What beautiful birds! Once again I commend Bamburi Cement Ltd through Lafarge Eco Systems for what they have done and continue to do for nature. Such a pleasure to see the animals that seem to live so peacefully in that beautiful setting. Thanks for sharing! |
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| Sabine from LES |
| Dear all, glad to see you like our birds! They ARE fabulous, the world of birds is a world of it's own. Jackie, nice to hear you liked Kauz the owl - he IS wise and smart; I reared him from a ball of fluff to an adult, a very rewarding and interesting experience! He is about 8 years old now, and is still my friend. |
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| Daria from Boston, MA |
| Dear editorial friends - such FABULOUS photos! You guys rock! The kingfisher practically glows and the carmine bee eater is almost surreal. A fabulous job as always. Like Angela, we have a feeder with lots of hungry little birds and they have been wonderful to observe. Roz - the show is Undercover Hippo at 9 pm (Eastern US time) on 1/20. Yes, a man dons a hippo suit for some up close hippo observation! Looks like fun! Be well, everyone and thanks again folks at Haller Park! |
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| Rosalynd from Massachusetts |
| (I'm repeating this from the tail end of the last post. Love that carmine bee-eater!) TV SHOW***** This coming Sunday, 1/20, National Geographic channel is having some sort of a hippo special. Just caught the end of commercial ... will try to learn more. (Apparently a man dresses up as a hippo and spends the night with a pod!) Sounds like great fun, in a semi-dangerous way! |
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| jackie from switzerland |
| kauz looks very wise! |
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| Lisa from Boston, MA, USA |
| WOW!!! These are fantastic :-) |
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| Cathy in Washington |
| The Carmine Bee-eater is amazing! Thanks for the information. |
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| Angela from Rogersville, MO USA |
| I love this article, because I love birds! The species you have pictured here are just gorgeous! I have my own little bird "sanctuary" outside the dining room window of my home. I get so much enjoyment from watching them. I counted 10 different species out there feeding the other day. I love birds, but I love them best where God put them to begin with: outdoors, in the trees, and free. Thank you for the update and God bless! |
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Egyptian gees with ducklings at one of the ponds in the Quarries
Carmine Bee-eater at the Kikambala Quarry.