I was staying with my good friend Karen Paolillo, the person who I was to later describe as the Dian Fossey of hippos. She single handedly saved a pod of hippo during the drought of 1992 in Zimbabwe, as well as countless animals in area, and it was during this time that I met her and had my first 'true bush experience'. I stayed with her for 5 days, to learn about the bush so that I would be up to speed when I started my job as Ecologist for Raleigh International.
Karen and her husband Jean were working in Save Valley Conservancy and only had a caravan to stay in. Near the caravan they had erected a small open sided shelter where they had moved their bed and a small table and chairs. Usually only their cats slept in the caravan, but for the next few nights it was going to be my home too. It would be just too much for me to sleep out in the open this time around!
My first day in the bush was a dramatic one. Karen had identified this pod of hippo that was seriously affected by the drought - they had no water to use during the heat of the day and food was diminishing. Hippos need a lot of food to sustain them, mainly bulk such as grass, and they also need water to protect their delicate skin from the fierce sun. Some of the hippos had blisters on their backs and many were certainly on the verge of starvation.
In the morning we went to feed a young mother who had moved away from the rest of the pod. This involved me carrying a large sac of grass and pony nuts, Karen with another one and the two of us walking into the bush. And there could have been anything in the bush waiting for us, as well as a hungry hippo. After a good half an hour of walking into the middle of nowhere, with Karen using her in-built compass and me totally relying on the fact that Karen knew where she was going, we arrived at a dry river bed. Karen told me to wait where I was, not to move, and she left me guarding the sacs of food.
I waited, for what seemed like ages. My mind went wild with the thought of me being watched by beady eyes, eyeing me up for food, with crazy thoughts that Karen would not come back for me and I would have to make my own way out of the bush. My thoughts were interrupted by a large crashing of branches and the sound of a very very large animal coming my way.
Which way to go? Which way to go? I chose neither, stood my ground and waited whilst holding my breath, I was frozen to the spot through fear. Then there was a deathly silence and, what felt like 20 mins later, Karen appeared. She was impressed that I had stayed where I was guarding the food - little did she know that it was due to my inability to take any action that I had remained fixed to the spot!
The crashing had been the mother, charging through the bush in order to protect her young calf. We knew that they were around and left the food on one of the banks, at her normal feeding point, and hastily retreated back to the relative safety of the bush camp. That was task number one done. Task number two was to feed the rest of the pod. This was much nearer but more labour intensive as there were more hungry hippos to feed.
Karen had a wonderful method - the hippos were given a giant 'sandwich' of grass, hay, molasses and pony nuts. Each hippo would stand next to its neighbour and eat downwards through this 'sandwich' getting all the nutrients and bulk that a hungry hippo needs. As Karen knew all the hippos she knew which hippo was happy eating in a group and which weren't, and where to put the 'sandwiches'. It was a well thought out process.
I helped with the laying out of each element of the 'sandwich'. We were a bit later than expected so we had to work quickly, and I was told to keep any eye out for greedy ones that came early. I could empathise with this as I was getting hungry too, it been an exhausting day saving hippos. Out of the corner of my eye I sensed a movement, just a slight one, but one that was out of the ordinary. This sense has developed over the years and has helped me spot wildlife for miles around, and get me out of trouble too. I turned slowly and there was a hippo approaching the 'sandwich' that I was building.
"Er, Karen, there is a hippo here", I said as calmly as I could. Adrenalin was pumping through my body as the hippo swung its head from side to side and then locked onto us.
"Move slowly backwards and get into the car" Karen said, and we both carefully walked backwards towards her battered old car. I was praying that it would start first time this time, it was not that reliable. "If it charges, run." I didn't need much more telling than that. And then the hippo started moving forwards, picking up speed and opening its mouth, building up into a full blown charge.
"Run!"
We belted for the car, I leapt into the car and slammed my door shut although I did not really feel that much safer inside the vehicle. Luckily the clapped out car reacted as she should have done, roared into life and Karen reversed it at break neck speed away from the hippo and the 'sandwiches'. The hippo was having none of this and continued to move faster towards us. Karen could not see the hippo, she was looking behind us to ensure that we did not hit any trees, so I gave her a helpful commentary of how we were doing.
"Faster Karen, faster, its gaining on us, Oh my God, faster, Oh my God!" were my helpful comments as the hippo bumped the car's bonnet. It was far too close for comfort. Eventually the hippo gave up on its chase and decided that food was a better option. It turned around and lumbered back to its meal, leaving two wide eyed women in a car with hippo saliva on the bonnet.
Karen looked at me, her face must have been a mirror to mine - mouth open and eyes bulging, and we burst into nervous hysterical giggles.
"And that is why hippos can be pretty dangerous", gasped Karen between laughter. I think I got the message there....
That night I went to sleep to the melodious sound of honking hippos - what an introduction to life in the bush.
I was going to love it here.
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