Today was B-Day. Pt 3

Flying over the hippo pools was simply wonderful. There is a strong odour (Serengeti Perfume) that comes out of the hippo pools at this time of year so you have a warning that they are coming up. They seem to be everywhere.

Hippos are extremely territorial and kill more people than any other animal in Africa every year. They live in large social groups centred on a hippo pool or a series of pools that they will defend to the death. In the daytime under the hot African sun they stay mostly submerged. Their skin is very sensitive and they easily sunburn. They come out at night and wander up to 5 km along trails and forage for food returning home to the pools at sunrise.

During the wet season, the pools are fairly deep at 8 to 10 feet of water and the hippos spend their days sleeping and pooping in the pools. At this time of year at the beginning of the dry season, the pools are really just giant mud baths joined together by short creeks. And since most of the mud is actually poop, they have a very, very potent smell. An eye watering, nasal cringing odor, a.k.a. Serengeti perfume.👍Read more