Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Hippos as Ecosystem Engineers in the Okavango

Photo: Hippo moving through the Okavango River Delta
Credit: Kim Katsu

Every year in Botswana, South Africa, the arid plains of the Kalahari Desert are transformed into a lush wetland via the annual flood of the Okavango River Delta. This desert becomes an expanse of channels, lagoons, swamps, and islands. During this period of time, the Kalahari becomes absolute paradise for the many species of Botswana. What people don't know is that, in order for the Okavango to flood, the Hippopotamus deserves most of the credit. Every year, as the rains start to take their course, the Hippopotamus begins to migrate through the soft mud and sand, creating the very channels that enable the flood. Without the Hippos, thousands of animals would die each year. It is these little details that remind me how much the world really doesn't need us. The river delta doesn't need us to build man-made river trenches, it just needs its Hippos.

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