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December 2007
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This month's stories:

Extinct Cyprian Hippos Create Quandray

Cypriot and Greek scientists are trying to unravel the riddle of a collapsed cave brimming with the fossilized remains of extinct dwarf hippopotamuses that were descendants of a group believed to have migrated here as far back as a quarter million years ago.

Paleontologists have unearthed an estimated 80 dwarf hippopotamuses in recent digs at the site located just outside the resort of Ayia Napa on the island's southeastern coast.

But possibly hundreds more may be lying beneath an exposed layer of jumbled fossils embedded in the crevices of an ancient coral reef formation that now overlooks the coastline. 

Scientists hope the new fossil haul dated to 9,000-11,500 B.C. could offer vital clues to solving the long-standing quandary over when humans first set foot on this east Mediterranean island.
"It's about our origins," said Ioannis Panayides, the Cyprus Geological Survey Department official in charge of excavations carried out in conjunction with the University of Athens. "Knowledge of our geological history makes us more knowledgeable about ourselves." 

Until the Ayia Napa discovery, the earliest trace of humans on the island dated back to 8,000 B.C. But signs of human activity like stone tools and the remains of fires at the cave could turn back the clock on the first Cypriots by as much as 3,500 years.

The dwarf hippopotamuses were herbivores just like their modern-day cousins but only a fraction of their size, measuring roughly 0.70 meters (2.3 feet) tall and 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) long.
Their physical traits also differed. Unlike modern hippos whose upturned nostrils that sit high up on the snout are appropriate for swimming, Cypriot hippos had lower-slung nostrils better suited to foraging on land. 

According to Panayides, the fossils show the Cypriot hippos had legs and feet adapted to land rather than water, enabling them to stand on their hind legs to reach low-lying tree branches.
Panayides explained that was the result of a "remarkably swift" evolutionary adaptation to their new environment - a characteristic shared by dwarf hippos unearthed in other Mediterranean, islands including Sicily and Crete. 

Hippos arrived in Cyprus in more familiar dimensions between 100,000 to 250,000 ago, but they likely shrank to adapt to a more hilly island landscape. A reliance on footpower to secure their next meal prompted the massive girth reduction.

Carbon dating on hippo fossils found there showed the site dates back to 8,000 B.C. Evidence of human activity at Ayia Napa means the island may have been settled by sea-faring humans as much as 3,500 years before the current scientific consensus. 

"If these new bones are found to be older than bones previously discovered and scientists can find an association with humans, then the discovery has the potential to tell us more about the island's first human inhabitants," said Eleanor Weston, a paleontologist at London's Natural History Museum who was not connected with the Ayia Napa discovery. 

Panayides said indications that hippo bones at the Ayia Napa cave had been crushed as if trampled on by other hippos compounds the mystery as to why successive generations kept coming back to the cave. 

Shelter is the most likely explanation, but Panayides didn't rule out the possibility the hippos returned to an ancient burial ground to die. 

Panayides said it is hoped that DNA could be extracted to determine the hippos' exact origins.

Sources: Pravda (online) 5 Dec 07 and Associated Press 6 Dec 07
7/1/07

Brookfield (Chicago) Zoo Euthanizes Hippo

Hansel, the Brookfield Zoo's 53-year-old hippopotamus, was euthanized by veterinarians on Saturday morning, 20 December 2007.  His health had been declining as a result of age-related arthritis.

Hansel, a Nile hippo, had been kept in the Pachyderm House for 51 years, according to a news release. At the time of his death, he was the second-oldest male hippo living in a North American zoo.

The hippopotamus had been suffering from arthritis in recent years, said Tom Meehan, vice president of veterinary services at the zoo, and was "not maintaining a good quality of life" despite treatment with medication.

"It comes to a point where you're at the maximum safe dose you can use, and the animal gets to the point where they still look uncomfortable," Meehan said.

Hippos typically to approximately 50 years old.  Hansel was brought to Brookfield Zoo from a Copenhagenzoo in 1956, along with a female hippo, Gretel, who died in 1973. The two animals produced six calves, one of which, Wicket, remains at Brookfield Zoo.

Wicket is now the zoo's only hippo. Spokeswoman Sondra Katzen said the zoo is now debating what to do with her. Options include moving her, leaving her alone, or trying to find another hippo playmate for her.

"She is 39 now," Katzen said. "She might be kind of set in her ways and not do well with another one."

Zoo staff said they'll miss Hanzel's characteristic hearty bellow, which he'd let out several times a day. He also had a trademark crooked bottom right incisor in a mouth that ran nearly a third of his body length.


Sources: Chicago Tribune, Chicago.com (20 Dec 2007) and The Daily Herald (21 Dec 2007)
7/1/07

Imaginary Hippo at the Center of Major Prank

Please ignore the erroneous reports on numerous cable outlets including CNN, ESPN, FOX Sports and the NFL Network.  All Coach Crosby was trying to do was lighten the mood in the locker room.  

According to many news reports San Diego Chargers' Special Teams Coach Steve Crosby received a phone call from his wife in late October as wildfires were destroying property.  Her message…Apparently, the fires ripped apart some openings in the neighboring San Diego Wildlife Park, allowing some of the animals to roam where they wanted.  As a result, when she walked outside to assess the damage she found a hippopotamus in their swimming pool.  Reportedly, she then called the authorities, who came and tranquilized the animal and removed it from their swimming pool.

By mid-November, after the story had wound up on several national news reports, Crosby admitted that he made up the story in an attempt to bring some levity to the team after it was evacuated and forced to practice in Arizona for a week. 

"I was just trying to loosen everyone up,'' Crosby said Friday. "It was during the fires, and everyone was worried about their houses and everything. ... I couldn't believe how many people didn't think it was a joke ... It was amazing. I saw it being reported by ESPN and the NFL Network. ... The amazing thing is not one person in the media called to see if it was a true story. They just reported it. It's crazy."

Many of Crosby's players believed it, and they tried to get him back by tricking him into thinking he was being sued by the Wild Animal Park. He didn't fall for it.

Coach Crosby
San Diego Chargers' Special Teams Coach, Steve Crosby
Doesn't he just look like a prankster?

Sources: msn.foxsports.com (29 Oct 07), sports.aol.com (24 Nov 07)
7/1/07

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