Hi everyone. I hope life is being kind to you all and that the sun is shining wherever you live.  On our side things have been exceptionally busy and the feeding of the hippos and other animals is now in full force.  I started putting out food for the different families of hippos in early May.  Now at the beginning of July I have a total of 19 hippos coming to the food, which means I still need to get 7 others feeding but as they are in different areas I hope to be able to take food to them in the next couple of weeks.  At present there are 8 new bush pigs and 11 new warthogs feeding with the hippos as well as the normal warthogs and bush pigs that come to our home.  So a total of 19 bush pigs, and 56 warthogs are getting the left overs from the hippos.  I have zebra and eland eating a bit on their own but not yet regularly and two small families of elephants, one of 17 animals and one of 12 coming to Kuchek’s feeding station.

As the drought progresses and the temperatures heat up from August I expect a lot more animals to require feeding.  There is hardly any grazing now and the leaves are already dropping from the trees, which is too early.  So in our hot months from September to December it will be a critical time to feed.  This means I cannot stop.

I have started early so that those that feed now will remain in peak condition, so that all hippos feeding now will not lose their milk in the case of the four new mums and so they will be able to continue feeding their calves.  Plus the older hippos like Cheeky will remain in good condition.  It is better to keep them in peak condition than allow them to get too thin and then try to save their lives.

What this means is that the Trust’s outgoings, which are normally in the region of US$5000 a month have doubled and as time goes on will increase.   I hate to keep asking you all for donations but without your help we cannot help the hippos and other wildlife.   To date your donations have fed them for 2 months but we have a long haul to go.  I hope that by December the rains will have come and I will be able to stop feeding. In the meantime there are just over 3000 hippo supporters.  On average, when I put out an appeal around 130 people respond.  If only every one of you would help by a donation of 20 dollars or 15 pounds, this would go a huge way to keeping these animals alive.  I send love to you all.

Karen and the hippos, and you can donate right here at https://www.savethehippos.info/donate-to-help/