Hippo lore

Xugana Island Lodge
Okavango Delta
August 28, 2008

I’m wrapping up my week at Xugana, a paradise and place of peace. I am happy to have been able to show my friend Audrey this island where white butterflies flit about, lesser striped swallows whoosh past your head on the way to build their nests of mud and where the hippo snorts and sprays all day and all night. It’s bliss.

And the good news here is that by acclamation the hippo received a new name yesterday. For a long time he has been called “Bruce,” because an Australian guest had a fat friend named Bruce. Upon learning of Bruce and his nocturnal habits, no guests since have approved of that name, and it pales by comparison to the other famous hippos of Desert and Delta lodges: Pavarotti, Amadeus, Tinkerbell and Meatloaf. “Bruce” simply doesn’t sing, although one could make a case for keeping the name if it were in honor of Bruce Springsteen. But, no, it commemorates a no-show fat Australian. Lackluster indeed.

I offered lots of options for the renaming, from Beethoven to Slim to Rambo to Tiny. But the favorite was Fred. I had said “Fred,” like Fred Astaire, light on his feet – NOT. But it turns out that the guides noted how one guest a long time ago wanted to call him Fat Freddie instead of Bruce. And, the most appropriate reason to call him Fred is because one of the most beloved employees of DDS is a manager named Fred, the man who can tell a story about mosquito bites and succeed at making it titillating and hilarious. Everyone adores Fred. He is a 20-year veteran of the company. He was heading back to Xugana as I was heading out. Too bad for me. He and I shared shifts a few days in Camp Okavango, and I saw him again at Leroo Le Tau. I would have enjoyed having some time with him to hear his latest stories. I’m hoping he will like a hippo named in his honor.

The guides say they will refer to Bruce as Fred, Fat Freddie and Fat Fred. It seemed that nearly every time I uttered the words near the lagoon the other night, the hippo responded with a snort and a bellow. I take that as approval. Now how manager Fred will respond, who knows? I’m guessing with a snort and a cackle.

(Photos are of me/Fred, Xugana at full moon and Fred’s hippo neighbors east of here at the Chobe River)