Anti Gravity: When Hippos Go Bad; January 2000; Scientific
American Magazine; by Mirsky; 1 Page(s) Imagine a sport-utility
vehicle interested in mating. That frightening scenario roughly
captures your typical hippopotamus in rut. Hippos are big and
surprisingly fast, able to reach speeds of 25 miles per hour.
Unfortunately, anything of that size and speed may do
inadvertent damage when in pursuit of an amorous adventure. Thus
did a tragic death recently befall one Jean Ducuing, the
director of a zoo near Bordeaux.Ducuing was killed by a charging
hippo that may have been seeking intimacy with, or dominance
over,nearby farm equipment. The sex life of the hippo is far
stranger than this incident illustrates. For one thing, hippos
in the wild not only have sex,they host it.Back in 1994,
researchers publishing in the Canadian Journal of Zoology
announced the amazing finding of a species of leech,
Placobdelloides jaegerskioeldi, for which hippos are a secret
love nest. In the researchers' own words: "Evidence sugge