I wonder whether any project for hippos in the US as a meat animal, would run into strong opposition from animal-lovers? I gather that an element in the saga of escaped hippos multiplying in the wild in Colombia (mentioned in this thread’s OP; additional material on the subject in the Pit thread, commenced 7-12-2014 “Stupid drug lords and ther hippos”) – is that the locals often feel fond of the hippos, seeing them as cuddly and “floppy”, and are reluctant to do them any harm; at least, until hippos kill a few people…
(The whole business above, rather increases my fancy for visiting Colombia – whatever else, it seems to be a wonderfully crazy place.)
Hippo milk has about 500 calories per cup, I would imagine it could be a good source for creams and cheeses. They seem to domesticate very easily as well but just one temper tantrum could have disastrous consequences.
Hippos are the most dangerous animal in Africa, killing thousands of people every year. Now, the American lifestyle is quite different from that of many Africans, so presumably the death toll would be lower, but still… I suspect the danger would not be worth what little gain there might be.
The biggest problem with raising hippos is that they are mean, territorial, and undomesticatable. Don’t let their shape fool you – hippos kill more people each year than any other African large mammal. They are apt to do that if imported – not only their keepers, but anyone who gets too near them – and you can’t really herd them, so you have to slaughter them one by one with rifles. It’s a big risk for a meat that really has no market.
*Produced by George (5th Beatle) Martin, BTW.
So, what you’re saying is there’s a large unmet demand for hippo meat, plus demand for their ivory, the population could use boosting, and they’re easy to cull. I bet you could even get people to pay you to hunt them when it’s time to harvest. Sounds like a great business opportunity!
No. What I’m saying is that the possibility of successfully raising them here is slim, but if we get people interested in eating hippo meat those damn poachers will jump at the chance to slaughter whatever they can to meet the demands. Any campaign to get people interested in hippo meat has a high probability of backfiring, I think.
