While I was a docent at the Honolulu Zoo, the hippos was one of my favorite stations. When I started, "Rosie" was 2 years old, and "Weezie" (Louise) was introduced to the group as a 6 mo old baby. They are now 16 and 17. We had our Annual Meeting tonight, and were treated to a behind the scenes tour, including the hippo sleeping quarters. The 1st pic shows Rosie yawning (we woke her up). In the 2nd pic, she has put her chin against the bars to have it scratched. No one did... they were scared.

Just after I took the 2nd pic, I called her name, and she came right over to me, looked at me and presented her chin for a scratch, which of course, I DID! BIG BABY! I swear she remembered me. I use to sit by the underwater window in her exhibit and eat my lunch. She would come over an "put her head in my lap" or so it seemed.. talked ot her all the time, and she knew my waha nui!

If you're ever in Honolulu, be sure to check out or zoo... it has a great African exhibit.. all natural habitat, and we are now working on an Asian exhibit... so we can breed our Sumatran tigers and Indian elephants.

Malama pono A Hui Hou