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October/November 2007
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This month's stories:

Hippo Project Helps Kids in Ghana

In the Wechiau region of northwest Ghana, the Calgary Zoo has helped protect hippopotamuses, build a school and now, with the help of a local soccer team, outfit children in athletic gear.  The zoo helped found the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary in 1999 -- an effort to protect the few hippos left, which now number 25. 

But as poor Ghanaians were struggling for survival, it was decided both populations had to benefit from the conservation work if the project was to be successful.
"There are 16 or 17 villages in the park," said Brian Keating, the head of conservation outreach at the zoo. "National parks have been failing in Africa because the people have not seen the benefits."

Keating, who has been travelling to Africa for conservation work since 1982, has helped orchestrate the digging of several water wells for villages. Just last month, he attended the opening of a school paid for by money raised by the zoo's conservation outreach program.
The school has 200 pupils registered.

"The idea is to get these kids educated so they can inherit the park," said Keating. "We have 10 kids who've been sponsored through scholarships to learn to be tour guides and park rangers."
When the school opened, it was outfitted with enough jerseys, foot gear and soccer balls for two teams.

The money was provided by the Southwest United under-12 soccer team.  Belinda de Wolde, a former zoo employee, was aware of Keating's trips to Africa. When her son's team watched African teams compete in the 2006 World Cup, it struck her that some of the money to be raised at an upcoming team dinner might be best spent in Ghana.

Parents and coaches agreed, and half of the $7,000 raised last fall was given to Keating to be sent to the new school in Wechiau.  Rather than simply sending jerseys and equipment from Canada, the money was used to hire seamstresses in the region to make the clothing, and all the gear was purchased in Ghana as way of investing in the local economy.

"We never take anything with us. We send money and buy all the supplies there," said Keating. "And 100 per cent of everything we get, we spend."

The soccer team is holding another fundraiser Oct. 26, when the players and parents will watch children in Wechiau play soccer in their new uniforms in a video brought back by Keating.
"We're going to give him another $3,500 to continue to support these kids in Ghana," said de Wolde.

"Here in Calgary, we're so rich," said her son Brock, 9. "In Africa, they don't have many things, they don't even have food all the time.  "At least this way they can have some fun."

Source: S. Meyeres of the Calgary Herald (online) – 16 Oct 2007
16/12/07

Wandering Hippo Goes Surfing in
Richards Bay, S.A.

Richards Bay residents were surprised to see a hippo going for a stroll on a South African beach and enjoying some surfing before wandering off again.  The adult hippo was seen frolicking in the waves at Alkantstrand. After his departure, a crocodile - the second in less than two months - was also seen on the beach.

Although not an everyday occurrence, hippos have been reported to enjoy surfing.  "It is real enough, but it is not common," said Jeff Gaisford, an Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife spokesman.

Gabon on the West Coast of Africa is famous for its "surfing hippos". But even in Gabon, visitors have to be patient as the hippos don't go swimming every day.

Gaisford said hippos were not known for their fondness of sea water, but if they were displaced they could end up in the surf if it was the closest water source. 

They also sometimes travelled great distances, as did Huberta, the famous hippo who made an epic trek from St Lucia to King William's Town in the late 1920s.

Gaisford said young males and old bulls were pushed out of the herd, and that may have been what had happened to the Richards Bay hippo. The beach was closed for bathing on October 10 and 11 until the animal had left the area.

The majority of hippos are restricted to conservation areas and are on the list of vulnerable species.  Dalton Gibbs, from the Species Project, said that although hippos did not generally swim in the sea, they did live in estuaries, hence the Afrikaans name seekoei - directly translated as "sea cow". 

"They do not drink seawater, but it is possible that they use the salt water to get rid of parasites such as leeches," Gibbs said.

Leon Rheeder, a Richards Bay resident, said: "About six weeks ago a logging truck had to swerve to avoid hitting a hippo and ended up in a ditch on the main road between Arboretum and Meerensee."

Source: J. Meyer of the Independent (online) of South Africa – 21 Oct 2007
16/12/07

Hippo Dies After 29 Hours in Truck

Hazina, a 6-year-old hippo, died one day after being transported from the Denver Zoo to the Calgary Zoo.  It's believed the 1,500-kilogram animal developed circulatory problems from lying on one side in her crate for as many as 11 hours at a time during the move.  When she arrived at the zoo on the afternoon of 26 October, Hazina couldn't stand on her back legs.  However, after she was removed from her crate using straps and pulleys, she was coaxed into a holding pool. She was swimming, but the toxicity in her legs spread through her body and muscles, and her heart stopped.

The wildlife transporter, Chris Danhauer of Planned Migration claimed to have checked on the hippo every few hours and was in contact with the Denver Zoo during the trip.  "Hazina showed no outward signs of physical distress at any time during the drive," said Danhauer, who has been moving animals for nine years, including 51 trips for the Denver Zoo since 2000. He also has 13 years as a zookeeper.

A review is reportedly being conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday it is also investigating to see if the Health of Animals Act was violated.  Meanwhile, the Calgary Zoo has initiated its own review.  "We still believe things were done according to regulations," Calgary zoo spokeswoman Laurie Herron said, "but we know people are concerned and they have a lot of questions about how long she was transported." 
The probe will be conducted by Dr. Jacques Dancosse, a Montreal veterinarian who is also a member of the animal care team of the International Air Transport Association, which sets and enforces live animal transportation standards.

Sources: Multiple including M. Kim of the Rocky Mountain News (online) - 1 & 5 Nov 2007; D. Tetley of the CanWest News Service - 31 Oct and 2 Nov 2007; The Examiner.com - 29 Oct 2007.
16/12/07

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