Hippo Brains, or Yes, Virginia, There is a Hobbit

Scientists at the Natural History Museum believe that studies of ancient Madagascan hippos have led to a theory on the origins of the small brain of the 1-metre-tall human, known as the hobbit.

By examining the skulls of extinct Madagascan hippos, Museum scientists discovered that dwarfed mammals on islands evolved smaller brains in relation to their body size.

They now believe that Homo floresiensis may have had a tiny brain because of living on an island.  This belief is at the heart of the debate of the hobbit’s origins, whose remains were uncovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003.

The team suggests that the hobbit became a dwarf after its Homo erectus ancestor became isolated on the large island of Flores many years ago.

‘The discovery of a small fossil human from the island of Flores with normal facial proportions but a brain the size of chimpanzee has baffled scientists,’ explained Natural History Museum palaeontologist, Dr Eleanor Weston, who led the research.

‘It could be that its skull is that of a dwarfed mammal living on an island. Looking at pygmy hippos in Madagascar, which possess exceptionally small brains for their size, suggests that the ‘hobbit’ was a dwarf resulting from its H. erectus ancestors being isolated on the island in the past.’

Madagascar has many diverse habitats and was once home to at least 3 species of hippo.

(these aren't them)

The team studied species of extinct Madagascan hippos and their mainland ancestor, the large common hippopotamus.

(this one's not really common ~ he's carved of amazonite)

One of the specimens used, from the Museum’s mammal collection, was a nearly 3000-year-old dwarf hippo skull belonging to the extinct Hippopotamus madagascariensis.

'We found that the brain sizes of extinct dwarf hippos were still up to 30% smaller than you would expect...' explains Dr. Weston. 'It may be advantageous to the survival of animals that become isolated on islands with unique environments, not only to become dwarfs but to reduce the size of their brain.'

 So apparently these charmed hippos are perfectly suited to live on a small island, preferably populated with beady vegetation.  You can find them here and here.

The entire article (without the CHARMing hippos, alas)

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
Gayla Peevey, recorded in 1953
Lyrics and music by John Rox 

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door,
that's the easy thing to do

 

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

 

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

(Short Music Interlude)

Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegeterian

(Short Music Interlude)

There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage

 

I can see me now on Christmas morning,
creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there

 

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroseses
I only like hippopotamuseses
And hippopotamuses like me too! 

Visit my etsy hippos here.

Sing along here.
 

The Hippopotamus and the Tortoise

A Folktale from Nigeria

Many years ago the hippopotamus, whose name was Isantim, was one of the biggest kings on the land, second only to the elephant. 

The hippo had seven wives, all of them large and quite fat.  He was very fond of all of them. 

He was also fond of entertaining.  Now and then he put on a big feast for many guests.  But, as good a host as he was, and as appreciative as his guests were, no one, with the exception of the seven wives, knew the hippo's name. 

One evening, as the guests were about to sit down to the feast, the hippo made an announcement.  "You have come to dine at my table, yet not one of you knows my name.  You must tell me my name, or you shall have to leave without your dinner."

Dinner was looking very tasty.  And the guests were very hungry, having starved themselves all day so that they could better enjoy that night's feast.  But, alas, not one knew the hippo's name.

Hippo sent them away, their stomachs rumbling, looking back sadly at the table, which was heaped with delicious food and tombo [palm wine].

As he was leaving, the tortoise stopped to ask the hippo what he would do if he told him his name at the next gathering.  So the hippo replied that he would be quite ashamed of himself.  So ashamed, in fact, that he and his whole family would leave the land and go to dwell in the water for all eternity.  The tortoise thanked him and left.

The hippo and his wives had a custom.  Every morning, and every evening, they would go down to the river to wash themselves and have a drink.  The tortoise knew of this habit.


In their trek to the river, the hippo always walked in the lead, with his seven wives following him.  One day when they had gone down to the river to bathe, the tortoise made a small hole in the middle of the path.  Then he hid and waited.

When the hippo and his wives returned, two of the wives were lagging behind.  The tortoise crawled out from his hiding place and half-crawled into the hole, leaving his shell exposed.

One of the hippo wives hit her foot against the tortoise's shell.  She called out to her husband, "Oh! Isantim, my husband! I have hurt my foot."


The tortoise was so happy to hear this that he almost leaped out of the hole immediately, but he waited. 

A few days later the hippo again put on a feast for his guests, and again he cautioned them, "You must tell me my name, or you shall have to leave without your dinner."

The tortoise stood up, and said, "I will tell you your name, but first you must promise not to kill me for knowing it."  The hippo solemnly promised.


Then the tortoise shouted, at the top of his voice, "Your name is Isantim!" A cheer went up from all the guests.  And then they all sat down to dinner. 

When the feast was over, as per his promise, the hippo, followed by his seven wives, went down to the river, where they have lived ever since. 

And, while they do come out to feed at night, you will never find them on shore in the daytime.  And you will never be invited to another hippo feast. 

Hippos and tortoises can be found here and here.

Dance of the Hippos

 You can find my hippo charms on etsy and eBay.

(Finding dancing hippos is a little harder.)

Hippos Dancing in Fantasia

Last week, to celebrate my birthday, a group of us went to the Hollywood Bowl.  They were showing Fantasia with the Hollywood Bowl orchestra playing the music and John Maucieri conducting.  We all brought food and wine to share.  My sister made two amazing cakes, which we managed to light up before the ushers caught us playing with fire, and we had a wonderful night, complete with fireworks and a visit from Mickey Mouse.

One of my favorite parts of Fantasia is the hippos.  (In fact, you may have noticed my fondness for hippos is the past.)  And one of my favorite rhymes for the hippo couplet contest was when Donna rhymed Fantasia and dysplasia.  I believe her couplet said:

Hippos dancing in Fantasia Often suffer hip dysplasia.

So here, to share some of my birthday fun, are Fantasia hippos and a few of my hippo charms, which can be found on eBay and on etsy (or by messaging me here and telling me you desperately need hippos).  because, well... who doesn't?!

My Hippo Has the Hiccups

~Kenn Nesbitt

My hippo has the hiccups
and his hiccups shake the ground.
The floor is always rumbling
when my hippo is around.

I bought him at the pet store
But I missed a small detail.
I didn't see the sign said:
"Hiccupotamus for sale."

Both hiccupotamus and hippopotamus charms can be found on eBay and on etsy.

A Hippo Tortoise Fairy Tale That's Not a Hippo Tortoise Fairy Tale

It sounds like a fable or a fairy tale. The main characters are an orphaned baby hippopotamus and a 130-year-old giant tortoise. The hippo was rescued from a natural disaster of biblical proportions, and the tortoise was meant to be dinner a century ago. But the story of Owen the hippo and Mzee the tortoise is absolutely true.

The animals are both the wards of Dr. Paula Kahumbu, general manager of Lafarge Ecosystems, which runs a sanctuary in Mombasa, Kenya. She tells Jennifer Ludden the story of a highly unlikely friendship and the children's book she helped write to tell the tale.

December 26th, 2004 started off as a normal, quiet day. My son Joshua and I were out for a morning walk along the beach in front of my home when suddenly the sea began to race in. Within minutes the ocean became threatening. The tide had risen well beyond the high water mark. At that instant it became apparent the Tsunami that had started nearly 4,000 miles away far across the Indian Ocean would impact us as well. In less than 12 hours the Tsunami had finally reached the coast of Africa from its point of origin in Banda Aceh.

We ran from the beach back to my house where my sister and her children were waiting for us. They were all crying having just seen on television the haunting images of the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami. Although we escaped the waves, a one year old hippopotamus 80 kilometers away was not as lucky. 

Just before Christmas the unseasonably heavy rains near Malindi town washed a family of hippopotamuses down the Sabaki River and out to sea. The residents of the town tried in vain to urge the family back up the estuary. When the Tsunami hit Malindi, the sea turned angry, the sky clouded over and for a moment the hippos disappeared and were forgotten as all efforts went to rescuing the stranded fishermen. 

The next day only one hippo could be seen. It was the baby and he was stranded on the reef. Hundreds of people came to watch the efforts to rescue the hippo. It took ropes, boats, nets and cars —though the hippo was tired he was still fast and slippery. It took a brave rugby tackle to finally capture him, and the cheering of the crowd could be heard over a kilometer away.

Lafarge Eco Systems agreed to provide a home for the baby hippo and I rushed to Malindi to collect him. Tangled in fishing ropes, angry and tired, the hippo did not seem to appreciate our rescue at all. As we left for Mombasa, the crowd unanimously agreed to name him 'Owen' in honor of the volunteer who tackled him to the ground. 

Exhausted, confused and extremely frightened, Owen immediately ran to the safety of a giant tortoise when we released him in Haller Park. Mzee, our 130 year old tortoise, just happened to be nearby and he was very surprised by Owen's odd behavior cowering behind him as a baby hippo does to its mother. Mzee quickly came to terms with his new friend and even returned signs of affection. The unusual relationship between this baby hippo and the ancient tortoise amazed people the world over and has featured in most countries on television and in news papers. 

Owen and Mzee continue to spend their days together in the pond, feeding and patrolling. Owen nudges Mzee to come for walks, and Mzee sometimes even follows Owen. 

Hundreds of people have witnessed this incredible spectacle first hand at Haller Park which is open every day to the public. Owen will eventually be moved to a bigger pond in Haller Park were he can socialize with other hippos. 

The NPR version, by Dr. Paula Kahumbu
Chief Environmentalist, Haller Park
Mombasa, Kenya

The charm version here and here.