The surprising resilience of the Mekong River and its megafish, floating solar in New Jersey, a critical mineral motherlode in Norway, good times for Colombian hippos, and more!
I assume you're talking about hippos? You're right; hippos kill hundreds of people each year in Africa. Numbers I've read are that hippos kill more than twice as many people per year as crocodiles do. Hippos attack and capsize small boats. And I fear you're right that "hippo tourism" will be difficult to police to keep everyone safe. Here's hoping that hippos and people will find a way to coexist peacefully on a new continent.
You're both right-hippos are very dangerous and kill hundreds of people in Africa. But so far, there have been no reported attacks on humans by the Colombian hippo population (as of June 2023), and they've been around for decades now. Maybe their behavior is different because they're in a super-abundant new environment with enough territory to go around and they aren't being hunted by humans, so they're generally less stressed and more peaceful? I don't know, I'm not a hippo expert, but I am wholeheartedly also "hoping that hippos and people will find a way to coexist peacefully on a new continent."
They are massively dangerous. Given enough time a child will likely be tragically gored and the political calculus will change.
I assume you're talking about hippos? You're right; hippos kill hundreds of people each year in Africa. Numbers I've read are that hippos kill more than twice as many people per year as crocodiles do. Hippos attack and capsize small boats. And I fear you're right that "hippo tourism" will be difficult to police to keep everyone safe. Here's hoping that hippos and people will find a way to coexist peacefully on a new continent.
You're both right-hippos are very dangerous and kill hundreds of people in Africa. But so far, there have been no reported attacks on humans by the Colombian hippo population (as of June 2023), and they've been around for decades now. Maybe their behavior is different because they're in a super-abundant new environment with enough territory to go around and they aren't being hunted by humans, so they're generally less stressed and more peaceful? I don't know, I'm not a hippo expert, but I am wholeheartedly also "hoping that hippos and people will find a way to coexist peacefully on a new continent."