A Pink Hippopotamus photographed in Kenya (really)

[Bill Ryan]

-------

Dear All:

I took these photos myself on a visit to the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya in 2001. The hippo was in a remote part of the the Mara River, which runs through the park, and the place I took the pictures was really quite hard to get to.

I reported it to the Kenya Wildlife Service, who were amazed -- and were keen to know exactly where it was. I was able to give them the location on a map.

The following year I returned to the exact same spot -- and the hippo was still right there.

The photos are scans of the original color prints, but otherwise have not been retouched in any way.

:)

http://projectavalon.net/Pink_Hippo_1_Bill_Ryan_Mara_River_2001.jpg

http://projectavalon.net/Pink_Hippo_2_Bill_Ryan_Mara_River_2001.jpg

http://projectavalon.net/Pink_Hippo_3_Bill_Ryan_Mara_River_2001.jpg

[johnf]

That would be an interesting thing to know more about.
There are different types, and degrees of albinism. Mammals show it differently than say reptiles, or birds.
It looks like the irises are normal colored from the pictures, do you recall whether the eyes seemed different from the ones of the other hippos?
did a quick search and found one link with 2 pictures to compare it to.
From a distance the eyes look dark, but there is a closer up picture where they look pink.

http://bittelmethis.com/do-hippos-sweat-blood/

jf

[Conchis]

I'm thinking some SPF 1000 would be in order....that's one pink hippo!

[BrianEn]

Sort of an albino maybe.

[johnf]

I'm thinking some SPF 1000 would be in order....that's one pink hippo!

Hilarious thought. Seriously though to be albino in the hot african sun would be a health problem I think.
Perhaps spending lots of time in the murky waters would be beneficial. It looks like they do their grazing on grass at night as well.

jf

[Sidney]

Sort of an albino maybe.

Here is more info. I do believe it is some kind of Albinism (according to this article).
Excellent pictures Bill. Thanks for sharing.
http://eng.hrosi.org/?id=21

[johnf]

Sort of an albino maybe.

Here is more info. I do believe it is some kind of Albinism (according to this article).
Excellent pictures Bill. Thanks for sharing.
http://eng.hrosi.org/?id=21

Nice find! That explains what you can see in Bill's pics, as well as the other pink hippo pics quite well.

jf

[Sidney]

Sort of an albino maybe.

Here is more info. I do believe it is some kind of Albinism (according to this article).
Excellent pictures Bill. Thanks for sharing.
http://eng.hrosi.org/?id=21

Nice find! That explains what you can see in Bill's pics, as well as the other pink hippo pics quite well.

jf

It does sound as they are extremely rare though. Bill, how lucky you were to get to see them!!!!!

[Jake]

Very cool pics. I am sure they are quite rare. NASA just gave us some pics of a rare pink planet (http://www.weather.com/news/science/space/nasa-pink-planet-20130809)!!! I wonder if there could be rare blue and green Hippos there! :)

http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/520129e3eab8ea813d000001/we-cant-stop-staring-at-this-new-glowing-pink-planet.jpg

[johnf]

It looks like the pink eye in the close up in the link I posted above
is actually photographic red eye.

[Bill Ryan]

:bump: :bump: :bump:

(I was chatting about this with the mods just now, and realized I should really bump this :bigsmile: )

[Did You See Them]

Thanks Bill - what a sight to behold.

https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/80/285x214/202344_1.jpg

https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/202344/A-hippo-that-s-in-the-pink/amp

"The animal has leucism, meaning reduced pigmentation in its skin."

[Angel of the Mists]

What Bill hasn't mentioned is that the other hippos knew there was something different about their pink 'brother/sister' and intuitively covered him up with their own bodies to protect him from the sun......when they were in the water/mud. Perhaps we could all learn something that! :) :)

[RunningDeer]

-------

Dear All:

I took these photos myself on a visit to the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya in 2001. The hippo was in a remote part of the the Mara River, which runs through the park, and the place I took the pictures was really quite hard to get to.

I reported it to the Kenya Wildlife Service, who were amazed -- and were keen to know exactly where it was. I was able to give them the location on a map.

The following year I returned to the exact same spot -- and the hippo was still right there.

The photos are scans of the original color prints, but otherwise have not been retouched in any way.

:)

http://projectavalon.net/Pink_Hippo_1_Bill_Ryan_Mara_River_2001.jpg

http://projectavalon.net/Pink_Hippo_2_Bill_Ryan_Mara_River_2001.jpg

http://projectavalon.net/Pink_Hippo_3_Bill_Ryan_Mara_River_2001.jpg
:bump:
.......