Hippo's Wild World of Animals - Random Animal Facts

I didn't know of that happening, but I do know that Taweret will not be mocked and will extract its vengeful recompense by and by.

Depends, does the story meander for half an hour before ending up being about how you were president for a day?

I ended up at the St. Louis zoo one miserable day several winters ago. Most of the animals had enough sense to stay in out of the weather, so I walked around some indoor areas that were open, and I got to see a baby hippo. It was adorable.

Come with us under the sea to witness upon the octopodes!

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Octopus, spider of the sea (if there weren't spiders down there, there are) and general weirdy looking arm flaily thing, there's a lot more to them than spectres of unnatural darkness.


Octopoda, the order into which they fit, is a vast wide one with 300 species to its name. Now, plural of octopus is a weird thing, octopuses is the generally "correct" term though octopodes is a plural name used in antiquity along with octopods and octopi just exists because it sounds more fun, use whichever you like the sound of most as they're all correct.



Also in their repertoire is the ability to camouflage, some far better than others which is a wise thing to do when you're a fleshy creature with no skeletal protection and your best line of defence is squirting black ink for cover.


When flailing around in the ocean, octopi don't have great control over their arms due to their brain being able to tell them what to do but not really being sure they did it due to a lack of return path for those synapses. Instead, it has to look to make sure they're doing the right thing and making corrections based on that, think of it like the thing where you have someone behind you use their arms as your arms.


Though somewhat unrelated, ambergris is made from the bile duct excretions of a sperm whale after having eaten a octopus and needing a way to push the hard beak left over through the digestive tract, only big chunks are vomited but the rest comes out the other end. Ambergris can be used as a base for perfumes but is vanishingly rare to the point nobody uses it anymore.

Octopus DNA is very complex, far more than human DNA and though it's incredibly unusual with often rewriting itself dependant on environment the octopus is not extraterrestrial though you might think they were. If we allowed it they probably could come to rule us all if we didn't rise up first and turn them into takoyaki (just don't eat their heads, very poisonous).

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And to close out this creepy scene (for Halloween of course), yet more cephalopodic pics!












This one is here because next week it's seals. All the seals. Including the loose ones.

From SushiFAQ:

Octopus is consumed throughout the world in a variety of dishes and styles of cooking, but ubiquitous to the dish is the need for tenderizing. Methods of tenderizing vary widely across the world, and often seem based more on superstition than fact (some chefs will tell you that it must be boiled in a copper pot, or that the only way to be certain is to throw it against a spotlessly clean sink four times in a row). The most common way for Japanese sushi chefs to prepare it is through a salt wash which gets rid of any remaining slime and viscera, and to then massage it with salt and chopped daikon radish. Octopus are short lived, and so do not accumulate the mercury the same way as large predatory fish with long life spans, and are high in protein. Nutritionally, octopus are a fairly low calorie meal.

Before we get in I will be trying to ping requesters that their animal is up because I'm not sure if I'm getting many return visitors or if any of those are the requesters. I also want more discussion and junk like earlier so I know people are involved and interested so mentions will be made in future and posts will be made, still got 18 weeks of this at least.

This week is all about seals, as requested by Tellyfier.

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Seals, known best for flumping around and target of evil clubbers but what more do you need to know? Lots.


Seals are a big group, part of a clade called Pinnipeds, and include in addition to seals other species like walruses and sea lions. This little assortment of animal facts is going to focus on the true seals, those without ears.



The seal has a wide range of seas in which it can be found though most species are in the arctic polar regions. Their sizes range based on species from the smallest at 4-5 feet long (ribbon seals) upto the biggest at 10-15 feet (elephant seals).



When swimming to the deep depths for extended periods, seals can empty their lungs halfway in order to stay underwater without needing to breathe or get compression sickness.

Humans have long had tales about the animals they encounter and the seal is no different, the Inuit have a goddess they worship who looks out for the sea and sealife who has a lower seal torso much like a mermaid and the Celts had the selkie, a seal who could take the form of a human female.



Even though some seals are well respected by humans, they were and still are hunted unrelentingly though numbers have gone down in certain parts. While some are being hunted without protections such as the harp seal among others, on the coasts of California the numbers have gone up enough they are considered by some to be a nuisance.


Though seals are incredibly powerful predatory animals, some even consuming penguins and octopuses, they are often considered much like the poor hippo to be something of a cute if dimwitted creature and once again we get to blame early 20th century depictions for making them a joke. Large eyes, instant cute, moreso by making them do stupid tricks in a circus.

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So, who’s up for more seal pics? I know I might be.


On leopard seals, they are very rawr, rawr enough to kill penguins and I do have a pic depicting that rawrness. I'm spoilering it because while I'm not fond of the subject matter it's still a stunning piece of photography hence why I'm including it here at all. Does contain blood and many guts so you haz been warned.




Ice Cream Planet, this do believe this one might be yours.

I can't get over how cylindrical this one is.




Leopard seals are terrifying.  They were recognized for their jerkiness toward penguins in Happy Feet.

🔪 silly buns  Ginger seal's flippers look unusually large to me.

Maybe!  Maybe it also gave her the gift of elevated compassion which she extended to a certain penguin with whom she now has an unlikely and heartwarming friendship.

Aw, that's so sad. Poor little thing.

I think I like this thread better.

Hey kiddos, Hippo here, the thread will be updated on Wednesdays instead of during the night between Sunday and Monday. Reason for this is that I'm usually writing up Bob's Burgers reviews at around the same time so it's two bulk things in one go and the few days gap makes sure I won't burn out on either.

So not tomorrow, Wednesday.

Nice work as always, Hippo.

I was wondering, do you have a list of the animals you plan on covering for the next few weeks?

They can also detect dogs to hug from 20 miles away.



Unlike the elephant seal, their interspecies combat gives the appearance of being gentlemanly and sportsmanlike.