How many hippos are too many? Proposed cull raises questions

By resurrecting a proposal to allow trophy hunters to shoot 250 hippos annually, Zambia stirs controversy. The hippo -- really? That's the common response when tour guides in Africa tantalize travelers with this question: "What's the most dangerous animal on the continent?" Lion? Rhino? Elephant? No, no, no. Eventually, the tour guide delivers the answer with a twinkle in their eye: the hippo, yes, that water-loving, one-tonne mammalian oddity. Despite their hefty and somnolent appearance, hippos are fast and aggressive -- a dangerous mix -- and may kill several hundred people a year (of course the most dangerous animal in Africa is not really the hippo at all, it's the mosquito -- but no one likes a know-it-all). Despite being one of the most unusual animals on the planet -- their closest relatives are whales and dolphins -- hippos don't get a lot of love. They tend to be overshadowed by the continent's other remarkable mega-mammals. Who can compete with elephants and giraffe and lion? Perhaps, that's why it's not exactly surprising that the announcement of a hippo cull in Zambia didn't exactly make global news. Continue reading...