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Ross Cheshire

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Ross was born and raised in Durban, spending many a family holiday in the northern parts of KwaZulu Natal. It is here that his love and passion for the African Bush developed. He decided to combine his love of working with people and ...

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8 Comments

on Ecological Engineering: The Influencial Hippopotamus

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Who would have thought that the hippo would play such an important role in ecological engineering?! Thank you Ross for your informative blog.

Ross thanks for the information about the hippos role in ecological engineering. Massive animal with a huge appetite creates interaction among the plants and animals around all of the waterways, fascinating.

Thank you Ross! Hippos have been among my favourite animals since childhood. I often wondered why they were not contemplated in the “Big crew”. I recently watched a fantastic documentary, Hippo King, it was very funny as the main character was a male hippo followed from his birth to his death, passing through his dangerous life as a calf to his short friendship with a leopard to his kingdom. What was most interesting was the way Hippos are responsible for the shaping of rivers and their maintaining. They are fantastic animals and a link between two worlds. You wrote about their abilities in a skillful way, I’m always so pleased by the writing skills of Londolozi bloggers!

Well know Ross, that is interesting information you have explained to us. Hippos being the ecological engineers and adding biodiversity. We have so much to learn from nature and to be appreciative of nature.

Thanks, Ross, for this enlightening article on Hippos. Normally they are seen as just a species among others, an interesting one, sometimes entertaining to watch, but not as important, as, e.g. elephants. However, as you point out in this blog, nonetheless very important for the ecological system. I always like seeing birds or turtles a.s.o using hippos as a vantage point of means of transport. It looks so cute.

Loved learning more about hippos, thank you!

Thanks for that, Ross. Despite seeing many hippos during my visits I really had no idea of the importance of their role.

Brilliant and informative post Ross!

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