A family in Botswana, Africa, found an unexpected guest in their swimming-pool a couple of days ago.
Q: How long do you allow a hippo to swim in your pool?
A: As long as he bloody well wants to!
The Independent reports:
Brent Reed, 47, said the giant male was discovered by a night watchman in the garden of his home in Maun, Botswana, in the early hours of 31 December.
The safari director managed to capture pictures of his youngest son Troy, 11, and friend Kyle Steyn, 15, gazing down at the wild animal, which he said appeared completely at ease with their presence.
The hippo – which is one of the world’s most dangerous animals – seemed in no hurry to leave the family’s two-metre-deep pool and eventually climbed out after seeing in the new year.
. . .“The Thamalakane River has dried up so our swimming pool was probably the most inviting place for him to stay as our home is alongside the dry riverbed.”
. . .Mr Reed said the uninvited guest prompted a huge clean-up operation after leaving behind a considerable mess in his previously pristine pool.
There’s more at the link.
It’s not just emptying out the water and refilling the pool. Removing a few hundred pounds of hippo dung from the innards of a swimming pool filter . . . now there’s a job I wouldn’t enjoy! It might be quicker, simpler and cheaper (not to mention cleaner!) just to install a new filtration system.
Peter
Yeah, the clean up won't be pretty. I wonder what sort of filtration scheme they installed? Most systems are not equipped to even begin to address the gallons of hippo piss let alone the solid waste. Drain it, scoop out the solids and fill it.
Yep, when they 'fire off', it gets REALLY messy… I'd just go with filling that one in and digging a new one… sigh
They didn't try to have him for Lent?