Two animals you’d love to meet
GEETA PADMANABHAN
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Savannah and Jessica are stars. Unforgettable and extraordinary.
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Photo: Geeta Padmanabhan
Two favs: Savannah
She is six years old, wears a white coat with black polka dots. Her teeth and nails are a bit scary but her eyes look friendly. She sleeps 18 hours a day. Lazy, isn’t she? But watch her wrestle her best friend Prince the Labrador! Her name is Savannah. A pretty name for a cheetah, right?
Savannah lives on the Tshukudu farm in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Her mom couldn’t take care of four cubs, so farm owner Ian picked her up and raised her on baby food and pieces of meat. He named her Savannah which means “plains”. Savannah is anything but plain. She roams freely on the farm’s 5000 hectares of forests wearing a radio collar. Call out, “Savaaannah!” and she comes walking.
Ranger Jacks takes visitors to join her on her morning walk. Tickle her in the neck (don’t touch her stomach or tail!) and she purrs. Notice the black “tears” running down her eyes? They keep the sun glare out of her eyes. Cheetahs hunt by sight.
“I once saw her stalk a lion,” Jacks said. “Suddenly two more lions appeared and the hunter became the hunted!” Savannah disappeared leaving Jacks worried. “We were relieved to see her safe next morning.”
Just another baby
Jessica was born on the day of the worst floods in South Africa. The swollen Blyde carried her mom away and threw her on Tony’s yard. “It was 2 p.m. on March 11, 2000. I heard a whimper. I walked out to find this new born hippo on my lawn,” said Tony. “I decided to raise her.” Jessica proved to be quite a baby.
The shallow pool the river makes down Tony’s house is an ideal place for a “water elephant”. But baby Jessica loved to curl up on the sofa or sleep on Tony’s bed with her head under the pillow.
Jessica.
When she was four, weighing several thousand pounds, Jessica smashed two sofas. Tony made her sleep in the verandah. Jessica wouldn’t have it! She would force open the front door or break a window. Steel railings now keep the windows safe.
It’s fun to watch the hippo walk down the mud slope into the river and swim away. The crocs in the river don’t bother her. She comes to the deck Tony has built, for a bucket of sweet potatoes, corn and carrots. She washes it down with four litres of thin, unsweetened coffee! She loves to be petted and a good rub on the face makes her feel sleepy.
Jessica is a star. The National Geographic carried a story about her. “The Animal Planet crew wanted to photograph her lying on my bed. The bed splintered, but the crew bought me a new one.” Watch Jessica the Hippo on An
imal Planet in May-June.
Isn’t it expensive to have a hippo as a pet? Tony agreed. “It costs us R4000 a month. But we love her. She eats grass and I don’t have to mow my lawn!”
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