Steve : New Media Star

Steve : New Media Star

Steve hippo is quite the media star ! He has proved to be the cleverest young male hippo that has  been studied by Karen. All young male hippos get chased away from their family pod from as  early as two and a  half years of age. It is normally their own mother who...
Max with Friends

Max with Friends

This is Max who lives in Kuchek’s family of hippos close to the Turgwe Hippo Trust headquarters, with Kuchek the bull and his father in front of him. Max is four months old in this photo taken July 2020. Hippos live in harmony with the crocodiles and often they will...
Latest News from Squiggle

Latest News from Squiggle

For all of you who follow Karen’s blog or check out the facebook page Karen Paolillo, or Turgwe Hippo Trust, you should remember Squiggle the slender mongoose. Squiggle was found by Karen under a log with still her umbilical chord attached and her eyes closed. There...
Hippos at Game

Hippos at Game

On the left is Kai, age one year and two month, playing with new calf Max age four months. Photo taken July 2020. Hippo calves play at open mouthed pushing games and often leap over each other in the water like dolphins. They will gape like this and joust with each...
Temba’s Familly- 2020

Temba’s Familly- 2020

This is Tembia hippo’s family with himself totaling 15 hippos. Three new calves born to his family this year 2020. Tembia is very special as he was conceived when Karen Paolillo first fed the last hippos of the Turgwe River back in 1991/92. His mother Lace conceived...
Welcoming Max !

Welcoming Max !

Last May, we started a draw to name our latest cub born between 10 & 11th March 2020. He is a male, and his mother is Relief and father is probably Kuchek. His name is MAX and he is Relief’s third son. Relief’s older son Steve has now become what we call our...
Happy News in May

Happy News in May

Life here in the bush at Turgwe Hippo Trust has been interesting of late in that we now have a resident house hippo! Steve a young male of 2 years and nine months was chased out of the family pod at the beginning of this year. This was because his mother Relief was...
Herbert attacked by a crazed bull

Herbert attacked by a crazed bull

Today we had a miracle in that I thought our head game scout (Herbert) was dead. He and Elijah went on patrol and at 7.am Elijah came home to tell me that they had been attacked by a buffalo. (Now only about 5 days ago, a man had been killed by a buffalo just about...
Ant Fynn’s Donation to the Trust

Ant Fynn’s Donation to the Trust

Ant Fynn  an internationally renowned artist from Zimbabwe, who I believe captures the spirit and likeness of an African animal in its habitat like no other Zimbabwean artist, has given me the greatest of honours in donating to me personally this amazing oil of Kuchek...
SURPRISE left us.

SURPRISE left us.

  I end this year on a very sad note, hoping that we will move forward into a happier and better new year. A very special female hippo, Surprise, was found dead on December 23rd but I have only written this blog now as I wanted to notify her supporters before...