Hippo likes watching football and other sports. Many teams have animal mascots like the Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Lions. Hippo wondered why nobody had thought of choosing a really great animal mascot –
Hippopotamus amphibius.
Well, last weekend Hippo learned that somebody did, and they're right in his own backyard! George Washington University has had an unofficial hippo mascot since 2001 when this statue was erected at 21st and H Street NW.
Unfortunately, the bosses at GWU decided that making the hippo their official mascot was
too problematic. John Och explains: "We regulate marks and logos that we own as a university. But from a legal perspective, we don't have any recourse to regulate the hippo." I know what he means – I have trouble regulating my hippo every day.
Fortunately, the
hippo will remain as an unofficial mascot. The GW Bookstore announced that it will continue to sell hippo apparel. Hippo might go shopping there for fall fashions, though he tries to dress a bit smarter than this fellow.
She wanted to show Hippo what the University of Michigan campus looks like in cold weather. There's a definite lack of salsa dancing hippopotamuses on the plaza.
But Triton and the kids are still playing in the fountain.
Holly tried to catch snowflakes on her tongue.
Then she warmed up with a fresh Mexican lunch.
Holly nuzzled a puma on the way into the Exhibit Museum of Natural History.
There she learned how hippopotamuses are related to whales. An animal called Artiodactyl began adapting to an aquatic habitat 55 million years ago. Some of its descendants evolved into swimming hunters which later became whales and dolphins. Others evolved into wading grazers like the hippopotamus.
Holly is a beautiful example of Hippopotamus amphibius.
She left an impression on Ann Arbor by making hippo prints in the snow.
