The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020 93 I was busy snapping pictures out the windowwhen I noticed that he was quickly filling the view inmy camera. Roar. PETERKENNETT some 500 human deaths a year. But I had to get a photo before we drove away. Megan reluctantly turned off the engine to calm the big guy so he would go back to his muddy hole. It worked! After a fewmin- utes, he slowly went back and settled into his warmbath. I took some casual shots from the jeep, but nothing special. We were far from a real road, with no cell coverage, and needed to move on. Megan started Elmo and very slowly moved forward to go around the pothole. The hippo, however, was having none of that. He rose up again and trotted out of the mud, but this time stood his ground. Megan stopped. Because hippos have poor eyesight, he sniffed the air to see what crazy red beast was near him. He opened his mouth and showed us his ivory teeth while slowly approaching Elmo tomake out what manner of beast this was. I was busy snapping pictures out the windowwhen I noticed that he was quickly filling the view inmy camera. His face dripping withmud and saliva, he suddenly stopped and huffed a loud puff of air at us. I think he decided Elmo was not welcome anymore. He picked up the pace and started to trot toward us as if to attack. I yelled to Megan to go, go, go, and Elmo was off! The hippo reared his head, swaying back and forth. Mud flew from his face as he let out a bellow—he was obviously very angry. Elmo flew across the wet tracks, throwing mud high in the air. In the rearview mirror, Megan could see him charging behind (hippos can run up to 30 kilometers an hour). Before it was too bumpy to continue, I stuck my head out the window and grabbed a few shots. We were high on adrenaline. He was not a happy hippo, but I imag- ine he was satisfied that he had won that battle against the large red beast. n Chase. PETERKENNETT