Mali and the hippo
Of our two dogs Mali is the least well-behaved. We are used to shouting at her to stop chasing baboons. Dave, my husband, has had to fend off large baboons trying to kill her on a number of occasions. Despite regularly telling Mali off for these antics she just can’t help herself. She is a dog with the heart of a lion and the body of a badger!
However, nothing prepared me for one walk where we disturbed a large male hippo wallowing in a watering whole. Frightened by our presence the hippo jumped up and stared at us. I thanked God I was higher up a bank and was backing out of site when Mali propelled herself forward and ran after him. The hippo was so shocked by the audacity of this tiny dog he bolted back to the river. I couldn’t quite believe it but against all the logic in the world, Mali pursued the 2 tonne animal touching his ankles first on the left then on the right.
Horrified I thought that was the last we would see of Mali. Luckily, 100 metres before reaching the waters edge, Mali decided to stop her game and trott back to me cool as a cucumber. The male hippo, once safely in the river, looked a little embarrassed by the overreaction I must say!