Questions & Answers

But What ?

Questions and Answers

Where are your Resources coming from ?

We depend mainly on the generosity and support of animal-lovers who send contributions to us, either by adopting hippos, making donations or buying Trust merchandise.

What Kind of Needs are you Facing ?

The Trust has monthly expenditures for fuel, salaries, food for the animals that we help around Hippo Haven, etc. Every month there is a shortfall that we have to try and find.

Have you any Help from local Authority or International Organizations ?

Unfortunately saving animals is not the highest priority in this country. International organizations are spreading help all over the world and having their own priorities. Occasionally we get the odd grant from an overseas organisation but the main help we receive here is from individuals who love animals but especially hippos. We will welcome any help from you to raise more interest from any animal organisation.

What are Ways Hippos can help People ?

Their presence in any water system increases the amount of fish in their area as the nutrients in the hippos’ dung feed the fish.

As they are selective grazers, they crop certain grasses very short using their lips. This creates swathes of land cleared of long grass that act as effective natural fire guards.

Selective grazer

By living in dams and rivers their large bodies create movement within the channels of the river and shallow areas of dams. By opening up the vegetation with their meanderings, the waters flow better during the dry season and keep pools open longer.

What other Ways are there to Help ?

For example we have a friend, animal lover and ‘geek’ who designed this new website in his leisure time. He is operating the site from his home in France and also offering to the Trust the hosting of the site by a German service provider. This represents a huge amount of work that we could not have supported with our limited budget.

In UK, we have another friend taking care of our merchandise sales and ensuring the delivery of goods ordered though the eShop of the website.

In Canada we have another friend who sends the small videos that I make for hippo foster parents. To send them from Zimbabwe takes a long time due to the slow server, so I send them one at a time to him and he kindly sends them on to all of Abe’s supporters or all of Tembia’s and so on. A video for me to send from here takes about 45minutes but from Canada 98 seconds!

In USA, a marvelous lady succeeded in raising funds to help us buy a second hand four by four drive vehicle to replace our old wreck of a Land Rover.
Another lovely lady in the USA offered to update my hippo newsletters so I write them and then she makes them more user friendly with up to date technology, which here in the bush I do not have access to.

So if you want to help the Trust, feel free to be inventive in ways to participate with us to continue saving these wild hippos and contact me with your ideas.

Are Hippos Attracking Tourism in Africa ?

Foreign tourists never forget their first experience of hearing a hippo calling his hippo laugh.

People often relate to hippos due to their size and how their head shape appears to give them a smiling face. It makes the hippo one of the more popular African animal that tourists want to meet.

There are thousands of people around the world who collect hippo ornaments. Any African artisan specializing in hippos will have a lucrative business. A survey of curio markets shows that hippos are the favorite animal that tourists purchase. A win-win situation for local communities to benefit from hippos in the wild. African people benefit from the hippo a win-win situation by artistic endeavors. All African people love to fish.