Hippo Ivory

Culled Hippos – The Other Ivory

On a safari side trip to donate some mosquito nets to a local village outside of South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, we came across something that was unexpected.

Lined up in rows and piles beside the road, and guarded by a small group of soldiers, were Hippo skulls, bones and tusks.

Hippo Bones
Skulls and bones from Culled Hippos near South Luangwa National Park

 

Going on safari in Africa, you envision wild mammals running around, playing out the eternal battle of predator and prey.

That is the case for the most part, but even in Africa fragmented habitats create situations where populations of certain species can get out of control. One such place is South Luangwa National Park in Zambia.

Piles of Hippopotamus bones
Piles of Hippopotamus bones near South Luangwa National Park

 

Overall, I found this park more impressive for wildlife viewing than the Serengeti. There were Hippos everywhere! As well as plenty of Giraffes, Elephants, Zebras, Warthogs and other animals.

Apparently the Hippopotamus population in South Luangwa is extremely healthy, to the point that authorities regulate a controlled cull of the animals to keep their populations in check.

Hundreds of Hippos are killed during these culls. When we arrived, these dried out skulls had obviously been around for some time, but it is hard to imagine what kind of operation it takes to cull these wild and dangerous animals.

Hippo Ivory
Hippo Ivory and Skulls outside South Luangwa National Park in Zambia

 

We were told that the hippo meat is given to poor villages around the park and perhaps some butcher shops (although how they refrigerate and keep all that meat clean is a mystery to me). Other items are sold, with funds going to ZAWA (Zambia Wildlife Authority) towards the protection of the country’s parks.

What I didn’t know before seeing these skulls and bones lying around was that Hippo tusks, those big sharp teeth of theirs, are made of ivory.

A Hippopotamus in Zambia
One of the many South Luangwa Hippos that wasn't culled in Zambia

 

While Elephant ivory gets all the attention in the media, due to poaching, Hippo ivory is the second most common source of ivory in the world. You can see some Hippo tusks have been set aside in these photos.

3 thoughts on “Culled Hippos – The Other Ivory”

  1. Hey there,

    Nice post!

    I witnessed a hippo culling in South Luangwa in 2005, because a friend was working for SAWA, and it was quite an experience. Professional hunters walked into the river chest deep (how they were not afraid of crocs I don’t know) and shot the hippo at close range. All five kills I witnessed were done with a single shot. It took some time for the killed hippo to start floating, after which it was dragged to the shore and cut with axes. All was supervised by SAWA, including a cool Japanese vet, who weighed the kidneys.

    Then the meat was mostly dried in long strings on open fire, exactly because there were no freezer containers available. We also got a big fillet chunk. which required hours to cook.

    1. Hey Esa! What a great bit of insights there…that would have been quite the thing to witness. It is sad that even our wild national parks need to resort to such culling and controls, but at least it’s done in a professional manner.

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