david korte photographs

There are numerous hippos observed where N’Dogo lagoon greets the Atlantic.  A pod of four kept their distance in the lagoon, submerging only to reappear 20 to 30 meters away.  And in the river channel, a pool contained at least four more, bobbing in the murky waters, a pwish of water clearing from their snout as they breach the surface to stare back at us.

We continue up the river and see the mysterious boils in the water marking the underwater retreat of several more, never quite knowing where they will turn up next.  A few weeks back, while fishing on the lagoon, our fishing party inadvertently trolled into a submerged pod of hippos while fishing a shallow bay, the churning waters riveting our attention as we hastily rolled in our lures.  The calamity of accidentally hooking a hippo is beyond comprehension.  We watched nervously, vulnerable in our shell of a boat as several hippos move off, totally submerged in 1.5 meters water depth.  The surface of the water actually undulates with the galloping motion of their exodus; and they move surprisingly fast, covering several meters per second.