Breakfast With the Hippos

The missing gardener and I attended Breakfast With the Hippos July 29 at the Toledo Zoo. Though they did not sit with us, we were able to marvel at their magnificent maws. The residents are Emma (first picture) and her son Herbie (all other pictures and videos).

I blame the keeper, not Herbie.

Herbie's ear twirl:

Toledo October 15

I visited the Toledo Zoo last October 15.

bald eagle

Emma, I think

Renee or Twiggy

scaly-sided merganser

Java sparrow

black crake

diamond dove

I've been trying to get a good shot of a golden pheasant for a couple of years. This ain't it.

Cincinnati October 10

The purpose of a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo was to see Fritz, the baby hippo. It was tough to get pictures of him, though, because people stand right up against the glass.

I used my phone to capture Fritz and his mom, Bibi, comparing maws.

Fiona, Fritz's half-sister, dozes.

Fiona

African painted dog

common murre

honey bee

carpenter(?) bee

Cincinnati

I went to the Cincinnati Zoo December 12 to see the hippos. Fiona has been the star of the zoo since she was born and shows up regularly on Instagram. Her dad, Henry, died in 2017, and Tucker arrived this year from another zoo. Fiona, Bibi (Fiona's mom), and Tucker get along very well, and I had to see them before it became too cold for them to be outside.

Fiona rests her chin on Bibi

There were terrible reflections that I still don't know how to defeat. There is a roof over the viewing area, but the sun was so low that it shone into the area from the back. I kept only a couple of shots, and they're not very good.

Tucker and his staff

The fish in the tank eat hippo poop and take care of the hippos' skin. I don't know why, but they were all over Tucker and not the other two.

Chester, an Andean bear, scratches his chest with straw. At least, that's what it looked like he was doing. He also dragged the blanket back and forth in front of him.

An arctic fox in winter garb rests.

A Florida manatee says hello.

A gray squirrel takes a lunch break. I don't know if he made the sandwich himself.

A grey bird grasshopper

A Peruvian fire stick

 

Cincinnati Zoo

I visited the Cincinnati Zoo in June, 2018, mainly to see Fiona. Turned out there are other animals there!

magpie goose

magpie goose

Lady Ross' turaco

Unknown. Looks like a species of pigeon to me.

boat-billed herons

Mueller's gibbon

My tags say greater kudu, but the zoo presently has a lesser kudu on its website.

little (blue) penguins

 

Recent photos

These pictures are from three zoo trips in October.

Caribbean flamingos (Columbus Zoo)

Bali myna (Columbus Zoo)

toco toucan (Columbus Zoo)

Mexican wolf (Columbus Zoo)

Kulu (Columbus Zoo)

emerald starling (Toledo Zoo)

Roary (Columbus Zoo)

Hermie and pronghorn (Columbus Zoo). They're not as close to one another as they appear.

Mandarin duck (Toledo Zoo)

koala (Columbus Zoo)

hippopotamus (Toledo Zoo)

 

Hippopotamus

Hippos are the animals that attracted my wife and me to the Toledo Zoo in 2000. At the time, there were four: Bubbles, Cupid, Emma, and Herbie. Cupid and Bubbles had several offspring during their long lives. Cupid and Emma produced Herbie. In 2000, Herbie was just a pup, and he and his mom would do laps around the Hippoquarium™ and perform barrel rolls as they passed the viewing glass. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera then. These days, Emma and Herbie do a lot of sleeping.

Walking from the hippo house to the pool. This photo is from 2008 and could be of Bubbles, Emma, or Herbie.

My notes say Emma, but I'm not so sure.

Bubbles, Emma, or Herbie

Hippos like water sprayed into their mouths. Here, Herbie takes advantage of a waterfall.

Herbie shows off his smile.

Emma or Herbie rocks a ballet move.

Herbie awaits a treat from above.

The world-famous Fiona, of Cincinnati