Hippy The Happy Hippopotamus!
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“Hippy the Happy Hippopotamus!” is a modern day eco-parable (for 5-8 year olds), with themes of family, community, sustainability and diversity: aimed to help young children to read English, and to see that cooperation, empathy, and connection with Nature, are the best ways to live in a world of rapid change.

The book was written by Chris Rhodes and Illustrated by Jeanette Cole.
There are two more books in the series, “Hippy Eco-hippo” and “Visitors for Hippy”.
​All three stories follow the suggestion of teachers to include some “hippo facts”, at the end, which children find fascinating.

E-book Hippy the Happy Hippo

£0.50
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Click here to download this e-book free

Two E-Books: 'Hippy Eco-hippo” and “Visitors for Hippy'

£2.99
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All purchases of this book support directly One Welfare CIC work,
​with kind thanks to the author, Chris Rhodes.
Hippy's Hippo Facts 
Human-Hippo Conflict (HHC)
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​​​​Hippos come into conflict with humans primarily as a result of habitat destruction, agricultural expansion, and illegal hunting. Key habitats for hippos are wetlands and riverbanks, and these areas are increasingly turned over to agriculture, as human populations grow, so forcing hippos into closer contact with people. Hippos often feed on crops, causing economic losses to farmers, who sometimes kill the animals in retribution, and to protect against further such damage.

Hippos are also deliberately hunted for their meat, hides, and teeth (ivory), which reduces their population further. According to the IUCN Red List, they are classified as vulnerable due to habitat loss and poaching. In such places as Ethiopia’s Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, the transformation of wetlands into farmland forces hippos into areas where people live, and so they are perceived as threats.

Despite their vital role as keystone species and ecosystem engineers, hippos tend to be relatively far less well studied than other large mammals such as elephants. In order to reduce tensions and protect both hippos and human livelihoods, more research into sustainable land-use planning and better conflict mitigation strategies is necessary.
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Ref: Mekonnen, F., et al. (2023). "Human-hippo conflicts around Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia: Vulnerability of hippopotamus in a human-dominated landscape." PLOS ONE, 18(10)
Mitigation strategies
Reference: van Houdt S and Traill LW (2022) “A synthesis of human conflict with an African megaherbivore; the common hippopotamus”. Front. Conserv. Sci. 3:954722. doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.954722