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On April 4, 1998, I fulfilled a longtime dream of mine when I visited the Hippo Beach exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. I was accompanied by Ruth Davis, a fellow hippo lover from Prescott Valley, Arizona. (Thanks for the free passes, Ruthi!) Hippo Beach is located at the end of the Tiger River path. The entrance to Tiger River is near the zoo entrance; you'll see it to the left of the Flamingo Lagoon as you walk in. There are several animal exhibits along the path before you get to Hippo Beach. The first exhibit you'll see contains gavials (relatives of the crocodile) and pythons. Next is the fishing cat exhibit (although I didn't see the cat myself). Further along the path, to your right, are the Malayan tapirs. I knew that there were tapirs in South America, but I never knew they lived in Malaysia, too. Next is the fairly new Tiger River exhibit. There are three different viewing stations of the tigers' enclosure, so you're practically guaranteed at least one good look at these magnificent felines. I was fortunate enough to pass by when one of the tigers was resting right next to the first viewing window. I had to push myself through a knot of other visitors to get a clear look, but it was worth it. Just before you get to Hippo Beach, you'll see a group of okapis on your right and a marvelous hippo sculpture on your left. (That's the sculpture I'm sitting on in the picture above.) If you're paying attention, you'll also notice the hippo footprints cleverly built into the pathway. Just past the okapis and to your right, you can see the pool where the zoo's two hippos live. You may see one or both of them walking about, but don't count on it. Hippos spend almost all day in the water. Don't fret, however; simply make your way along the path as it curves around to the left side of the pool.

Here's where the real magic of Hippo Beach begins. The exhibit is like a huge aquarium that allows you to look into the hippos' pool from the side. Three walls of glass -- eight feet high, two inches thick, and a total of 150 feet long -- separate you from the water. Through the glass walls you can get a remarakably clear view of the zoo's hippos: Funani, the 3000-pound female, and Jabba, the 4000-pound male.

Jabba appeared to be floating in "midair"

Funani stretches up for a breath of fresh air

When I first saw the hippos they were virtually motionless. They were dozing side by side on a submerged boulder, Funani with all four feet on the ground, Jabba with his front feet on the boulder and his hindquarters floating out in space. Their nostrils were pinched shut, and their eyes were closed; they seemed to be snuggling against each other. From time to time a child would ask, "Are they real?" or comment, "They look like statues." Almost as if on cue, one of the hippos would lift its head up until its nostrils just cleared the surface of the water, take a deep breath of air, and return to its resting position.

The underwater viewing site has two levels: the lower level, closest to the glass, has benches for visitors to sit on; and the upper level, a few feet above the lower and further away from the glass, is for standing only but offers a clear view of the upper surface of the pool. The entire viewing site is covered, so visitors are protected from the sun. Due to the refraction of the light as it passed from air to water, the hippos appeared closer underwater than they did when seen from above the water. This optical illusion caused some of the visitors to claim that there were three or more hippos in the pool. Here's a tip for photographers: If you are using a flash unit, do NOT shoot at right angles to the glass. The glass will act like a mirror, and you will end up with a picture of your flash bulb and not much else. Aim your camera at an angle to the glass for best results.

Notice the offset between the "hippo above" and the "hippo below"?

Up close and personal: A hippopotamus skull

Even though the hippos weren't doing much when I arrived, I sat watching them for almost an hour. It was thrilling to be so close to the huge creatures and observe them in such detail. I noticed that Jabba had white splotches on his left front foot; I had never seen a hippo with such markings before. The hippos weren't alone in their tank. A school of tulapi fish hovered near the hippos, feeding on the algea growing on their thick hides. Now and then a group of ducks would paddle by, seemingly oblivious to their enormous neighbors. One group in particular caught the visitors' attention: a mother duck with a brood of ducklings. After an hour or so, Ruth and I decided to explore the rest of the zoo and come back later in the day to see if the hippos were more active. At the exit I stopped to examine the hippo skull mounted in a display case.

As you leave Hippo Beach you will pass through a group of whimsical hippo sculptures. I learned later that there were originally a total of twelve sand sculptures, but the recent severe weather in Southern California had taken its toll on them, and they had to be torn down. Three of the sculpures were then rebuilt, this time using concrete instead of sand. One of the zoo volunteers offered to photograph me and Ruth in front of the largest of the three sculptures. (Unfortunately, the volunteer didn't know how to use my camera and ended up taking nothing.)

Here I am with the Hippo Beach mascot! (I'm the one on the right)

After we left Hippo Beach, Ruth and I stopped for lunch and then took the zoo bus tour. As we were stepping off the bus near the zoo entrance, we spotted the Hippo Beach mascot greeting visitors. Of course, I had to have my picture taken with him. (Someday I'm going to make a hippo costume of my own.) When Ruth and I made our second trek to Hippo Beach later in the day, the water wasn't as clear as it had been that morning, and most of the tank was in shadow. This mattered little to me, though, for Jabba and Funani were actively swimming about, and the audience was enthralled.

Hip, hip, hip, hip! Look at that hippo go!

The best thing about an exhibit like Hippo Beach is that you get to see hippos in poses that they could never assume on land. I'll never forget how Funani liked to "bounce" along the bottom of the tank, with both hind legs and one front leg tucked close to her body and the other front leg outstretched, leisurely pushing against the bottom every few seconds.

From time to time one of the hippos would present its ample posterior directly to the crowd; this always caused a sensation. "Mommy, look at his big BUTT!" the children would inevitably squeal.

Occasionally the hippos would face each other in mock battle, opening their cavernous mouths wide and exposing those awesome tusks of theirs. Whenever this happened I could hear visitors exclaim, "Whoa, look at the TEETH on that sucker!"

Jabba toys with a low-hanging branch

I also got to observe a behavior I had never seen before. The exhibit included a set of heavy bare tree branches, planted firmly in the ground, which extended out over the pool, just a foot or two above the water's surface. Now and then Jabba would raise his huge head out of the water, hook his tusks over one of the branches, and pull down, bending the tree almost to the breaking point. After holding the tree in the bent position for a few seconds, he would release his grip, letting the tree snap back and forth violently. I got the distinct impression that Jabba was just toying with the tree, that if he really wanted to he could snap it like a twig.

The most satisfying aspect of my visit to Hippo Beach was the comments I heard from my fellow visitors. For years I have heard the hippopotamus maligned as "fat," "ugly," "awkward," and "grotesque." But the people around me were expressing a far different opinion. Again and again I heard people commenting that they never realized how graceful, how athletic, how WONDERFUL a hippopotamus could be. I could almost feel the respect and admiration growing in the throng of onlookers. For a hippo lover like me, it was a slice of Hippo Heaven.

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Revised 20 April 1998