So plenty of people send us animal stories and videos nowadays -- or at least HuffPost Comedy Editor Alex Leo does -- and this one is pretty amazing. I can't decide which part is the most bizarre, so I'm putting it to a poll, which you can find right below the video.
The video, which is about what is allegedly the world's only tame hippo, was paired with this story about a BBC presenter's encounter with a wild hippo.
WATCH:
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Taking the concept of "cat lady" to an new extreme...
icanhascheezburger will never be the same.....
Oh noes!
There's an entire documentary about Jessica:
vhttp://animal.discovery.com/tv/jessica-hippo/jessica-hippo.html
I's pretty "aaaaaaaawwwwww...." inspiring. The spousal unit and I watched it, and we both agreed with Toni Joubert, the retired gamekeeper who found her as a newborn, lying on the river bank with her umbilical cord still attached: "I thought I knew a lot about animals, but Jessica has taught me that I know nothing." And in the documentary, Toni does acknowledge the risk of having a "tame" hippo around the house:
The big risk of having a "tame" hippo is not the potential threat to her caretakers; it's the risk of Jessica's thinking every human she encounters will be as understanding as the two humans she knows. At least one male hippo, who was hanging around, waiting for Jessica to go into estrus (which she has not of yet -- she doesn't weigh enough -- seriously), has been killed by farmers when he wandered into their fields and helped himself to the goodies.
Only in South Africa.....I love it!
Is the hippo tame, or just sick? His eyes do not look right.
She's tame. I saw the show on Animal Planet. It kinda reminds me of "George of the Jungle" and his pet elephant Shep that thought he was a dog!
Jesus christ, three weeks from now, there is going to be a story in the news about how this woman was eaten or biten by her "tame" hippo.
You took the words right out of my mouth. Anyone stupid enough to live with a hippo probably deserves that, too.
An animal that big and powerful could probably kill you without even meaning to.
"Oops! My bad! Didn't mean to crush you into a pulp up against the wall. I just didn't see you there."
Imagine a bulldozer with a brain and that's pretty much what you're dealing with.
LMAO! Stop it right now!
Jessica has been with her human companions her entire life and has seen nothing but the best in human nature from them. She gets no bad vibes from them because she senses their ease in her presence and sees them as "friendlies".
Animals are very intuitive and can spot a caring creature just as quickly as they can spot a threat.
In this particular hippo's case, humans pose a far larger threat to her than she poses to them.
Her "owners" should not allow any sightseers around. For Jessica's sake.
you have a bad case of what's called in veterinary circles the "Lassie Syndrome"--usually cured the first time you get bite, clawed or scratched by an animal that has no clue about your caring attitude or your 'vibes"...
You never know with animal lovers like that. Remember that "bear" guy a few years ago, sleeping out there in the wilds of Russia with big, giant, grizzly bears all around? He decided to play with them and feed them and bring his girlfriend with him to mingle with the "nice, tame" bears.
He and his girlfriend were eaten by the bears.
And hippos are just plain mean and ornery when they mature. I've watched Jeff Corwin and other stuff on Animal Planet.
He was eaten by one bear, that he never got friendly with, and he stayed far longer into the winter when all the bear's usual food supply has run out.
Still, I will agree that it's not a good idea to f-k with wildlife.
The guy who (with his girlfriend) was eaten by a bear was not in Russia; his name was Timothy Treadwell, and he "guarded" bears who lived within the boundaries of a National Park in Alaska, bears who had been "acclimatized" to human presence for years. He was, indeed, completely delusional about bears, and the first time he stayed after the salmon supply ran out, he (and his girlfriend) paid the price of his ignorance.
The "real" bear man, the one who studied grizzlies in Siberia, is Charlie Russell, who would be the first to agree with anyone who called Timothy Treadwell absoultely naive and out of his tree:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/walking-with-giants-the-grizzlies-of-siberia/introduction/3027/
Be forewarned: the episode of Nature the above link is for will make you cry your eyes out. Seriously.
Those bears were wild. This hippo has been acclimated to humans her entire life. Completely different situation.
...uh..not so much...a hippo acclimated to humans is still a wild animal....
Its those enormous teeth that get you, im afraid
Having read all of the comments below, and because it isn't part of the video, thought I should add...
Jessica was found at about 1 day old, when the river near her 'parents' house broke its banks... She's been with them for at least a couple of years, and during the day spends her time with wild hippos, but seems to come 'home' at night... Go figure.
These people live in the jungle and have wild hippos practically in their backyard.
They must have a pretty good idea of what they're dealing with...
I am so full of useless information!!! LOL
It's not useless if it can be used; especially if it can be used to enlighten.
Too funny...
Have been watching posts of Jessica for about a year now...
She also likes iced coffee in the afternoon... And gets massages at night before she sleeps under a bubblegum pink blanket LOL
Pretty amazing for an animal considered to be one of the most dangerous. The same guy from BBC had a posting on their website the other day with a someone who'd been mauled (is it hippo month?), so I can see why he's so amazed... but it's hard not to be.
I'm not generally keen about domesticated wild animals... but Jessica makes me laugh!
Thanks for the post!
It's not considered the most dangerous, it is statistically the most dangerous animal in Africa. Only mosquitoes (by transmitting malaria) kill more .
It's really touching to see something so imposing, (as only a Rhino can be)
filled with such ... gentle tenderness.
And then ...
As we go deep into a 'fuzzy' moment with Happy the Hippo, we discover she's filled with a little more than just 'gentle tenderness'.
What made it especially funny for me was the fact that the camera guy was ready and waiting with his camera aimed strategically at the location of the anticipated event.
Correction: I was thinking 'Hippo' while writing 'Rhino' - noticed the mistake after I posted - as usual.
Its those enormous teeth that get you, im afraid. This is a really, really bad idea, but perhaps the females are less aggressive than the males. What's wrong with white people? Seriously
I hope that her neighbors are smart enough to keep their distance!
Woops! Sorry BlackYowe, I posted before I saw your comment. should have scrolled to the bottom first. I see I'm not the only one who watches Animal Planet.
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First Posted: 06- 2-09 10:58 AM | Updated: 06- 2-09 11:09 AM