text:
Hippopotamus amphibius
|Scope: Global
Language: English
|Scientific Name:
|Hippopotamus amphibius
|Species Authority:
|Linnaeus, 1758
|Regional Assessments:
Common Name(s):
|Red List Category & Criteria:
|Vulnerable A4cd ver 3.1
|Year Published:
|Date Assessed:
|Lewison, R. & Oliver, W. (IUCN SSC Hippo Specialist Subgroup)
|Lewison, R., Oliver, W. ( Pig, Peccary & Hippo Red List Authority) & Hoffmann, M. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
The 1996 assessment described Common Hippo populations as widespread and secure. Since then, there have been substantial changes in several key countries where Common Hippo are found. The most recent population estimates suggest that over the past 10 years there has been a 7–20% decline in Common Hippo populations. Over three generations (approximately 30 years), it is likely the population reductions will exceed the 30% size reduction considering both past and future. Although the causes of the population decline are known (exploitation and habitat loss), the threats have not ceased, nor is there evidence the threats will be removed in the near future. Therefore, the species is listed as Vulnerable A4cd.
|Previously published Red List assessments:
|Range Description:
|Common Hippos are found in many countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and were previously found in virtually all suitable habitats. The species still occupied much of its former range in 1959, although it had disappeared from most of South Africa except for the Kruger National Park (Sidney 1965). They occur in rivers throughout the savanna zone of Africa, and main rivers of forest zone in Central Africa, in Angola, Benin, northern Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, southern Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Dem. Rep. Congo, Egypt (extinct; formerly along Nile to its Delta), northern Eritrea, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea (Mbini), Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia (only two records), Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia (Caprivi Strip, Okavango River), Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, South Africa (now only in northern and eastern Limpopo Province, eastern Mpumalanga Province, and northern KwaZulu-Natal), Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Common Hippopotamus was already rare in Egypt by the time of the Renaissance. From the end of the Roman Empire up until towards 1700 at the latest, the Hippo was still present in two well disjunct zones in the Nile Delta and in the upper Nile. Through the 1700s, records become increasingly scarce, and the latest definite records are from the early 1800s (Manlius 2000).
|Countries occurrence:
Native:Angola (Angola); Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Regionally extinct:Algeria; Egypt; Mauritania
|Additional data:
|Range Map:
|Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
|There are clear regional differences in population size and distribution. Eastern African countries (including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia) form the conservation stronghold for this species and are where the largest numbers of Common Hippos occur. Although common hippos are found in many West African nations, overall population sizes tend to be much smaller, either because of less available habitat or the higher density of human populations. Populations appear to be decreasing in many countries. The largest populations are found in East Africa. A country-by-country assessment conducted in 1993–1994 found that there were approximately 160,000 Common Hippos across their range, although this was considered to be an overestimate. A more recent assessment suggests that there are likely between 125,000 and 148,000 Common Hippos remaining. In contrast with the 1994 estimate, this range is not likely to underestimate the populations size. Of the 29 countries in which Common Hippos are found, confirmed population declines have been reported in half. The largest declines have occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country once thought to have the largest populations.
Western Africa
The species is not common in West Africa and the population is split into a number of small groups totalling about 7,000 spread over 19 countries. Populations most at risk are those in West Africa, where the distribution is particularly fragmented.
Hippopotamus are absent from the rain forests except near large rivers. They are most abundant in estuarine habitats and on the lower reaches of rivers. Some are found in the sea in the Archipelago of Bijagos off Guinea Bissau. Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Senegal probably contain the bulk of the West African Common Hippopotamus, with total numbers likely to be in the region of a few thousand. Although small in area, Guinea Bissau supports a substantial population, which is particularly abundant on the islands of the Bijagos Archipelago and along the numerous inland rivers. The species is common on most of the rivers in Guinea and in the east and south of Senegal with an estimated country-wide population of between 500 and 700. The Gambia contains no more than about 40 animals. There are probably less than 200 in Sierra Leone or Mali and none at all in Liberia or Mauritania.
The group of contiguous countries, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso, contain a total of, at most, two thousand Common Hippopotamus with the majority in Burkina Faso. There have been no recent counts except on the Comoe River on the border with the Côte d'Ivoire, where 720 were recorded in 1989. A further group is found on the Pendjari River system bordering Benin. This numbered about 500 in 1979 but only some 280 remained in 1987. The Mono River between Benin and Togo supported a small but stable population of 53 in 1986. Only remnant populations remain in Ghana.
Nigeria and Niger between them contain at least 400. No recent information was obtained for Chad but according to Sidney (1965) the species was common in the vicinity of Lake Chad during the 1950s. Common Hippopotamus were also once numerous in Cameroon but the only information obtained during the present survey was from the Korup National Park, where signs of the species are common around the confluence of the Miri and Bake Rivers although sightings are few. It is likely that the species does not occur in the Bake River much further upstream than Bajo although some traces were found as far up as Bakut. At least 150 Common Hippopotamus (possibly as many as 1,500) are known to exist in the Central African Republic in addition to an unknown number in Bamimgui-Bangoran National Park, where 136 were counted in 1973 although now there are probably only 20 to 30 present. Common Hippopotamus occur along most of the coastline of Gabon and for a considerable distance up the Ogooue River and although there are no recent estimates of numbers, they are said to be abundant in places. A few are found in neighbouring Equatorial Guinea on the Campo River. No counts have been made in the Congo, but the species is reported by one correspondent to be widely distributed and numerous on suitable rivers but another reports its presence on only one, the Nyanga River. The entry for the Congo in the IUCN Directory (IUCN/UNEP, 1987) lists Odzala National Park, Lefini Reserve (Louna and Lesio Rivers), and Nyanga North Reserve as containing hippopotamus. Zaire will be considered with East Africa as most of the hippopotamus are in the east of the country.
The total number of Common Hippopotamus in the nineteen west African countries considered here cannot be assessed with any accuracy because of the absence of recent counts but the figure is likely to be in the region of 7,000.
Eastern Africa
East Africa holds substantial numbers with 30,000 in eastern DR Congo and populations numbering tens of thousands in Ethiopia, Sudan and Tanzania. Several thousand also occur in Kenya and Uganda bringing the total for East Africa as a whole to about 70,000.
Many of the Common Hippopotamus in Africa are found in the east, especially in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and DR Congo. The Common Hippopotamus occurs in the southern Sudan on the Rivers Nile, Sobat and Jur south of Malakal and in several national parks and reserves. Other localities include the Sudd and tributaries of the Nile. There is no information on population sizes but it is said to occur in good numbers in most places. The species is also abundant between altitudes of 200 and 2,000 m in neighbouring Ethiopia, where its main strongholds appear to be the Omo, Awash and Great Abbi (Blue Nile) Rivers. It also occurs in most of the larger lakes and as isolated populations in smaller swamps and pools. The few that occur in the dry south-east are confined to the Webi, Shebeli and Ganale Rivers. The northern limit of the species is the Setit River. No precise counts have been made recently but the Common Hippopotamus is said to be numerous throughout its range. The total for the two countries combined is probably to be numbered in tens of thousands. Very few animals remain in neighbouring Somalia although some small groups have been reported on the lower Shebeli River and along the Juba River, where they are rather more numerous. No Common Hippopotamus have been reported from Djibouti.
The species occurs in most of the many suitable habitats throughout Kenya and some recent counts have been made in the Mara River area (2,132 in 1980), Lake Naivasha (220 in 1988) and along part of the Tana River between Osako and Adamson's Falls (220 in 1983) (Coe and Collins 1986, Karstad et al. 1980, Smart, in litt). The Mara figure includes some from over the border in Tanzania. Elsewhere in Tanzania, Common Hippopotamus are common in the Selous Game Reserve, where 1,894 were counted on 115 km of the River Rufigi in 1987 (Samuels, in litt). An estimate for the total population of the Selous in 1986 was 16,900 (with a standard error 6,307) from an aerial sample count made by I. Douglas-Hamilton. Independent aerial counts in the Selous reported by Games (1990) returned figure of 15,483 in 1986, 24,169 in 1989 and 20,589 in 1990. The last total is a rather crude extrapolation from an observed figure of 6,866. A large population occurs on the Akagera River and associated lakes on the border between Tanzania and Rwanda, but no recent count has been made. The total counted from the air in 1969 was 671 (Spinage et al. 1972). Common Hippopotamus are found in most other national parks and reserves of Tanzania and although not present anywhere in large numbers, the total probably amounts to several thousand more.
The principal concentrations of the species in Uganda are in the two large national parks, Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth. At one time the population in the latter park reached 21,000, but this was reduced to about 14,000 in the culling programme of the 1950s. Counts in the early 1970s returned about 11,000 but heavy poaching during the Amin years had left only a couple of thousand by 1989 when 2,172 were estimated from an aerial sample count. Similar numbers were found in the Murchison Falls National Park in the past but there, too, heavy poaching has reduced the population to remnant numbers although a recent count has not been made. The latest appears to have been in 1980 when 1,202 were recorded on the Nile between the falls and Paraa Lodge. The total for the whole park is probably about the same as in Queen Elizabeth National Park i.e., a few thousand. Other regions in Uganda where substantial numbers of hippopotamus occurred include the Semliki River and lakes Victoria and Kyoga. An educated guess of about 7,000 for the present total population of hippopotamus in the whole country is probably not far wrong.
Common Hippopotamus have a wide distribution in DR Congo including some in the north-west of the country although the bulk is in the east, where they occur around Epulu and Wamba and along some of the larger rivers in the Ituri Forest. Other populations occur on the Zaire River (Yangabi), Bomu River and elsewhere in several national parks including Garamba, Kundelungu, Salonga, Upemba and Virunga. The latter contains the greatest concentration with a total of 22,875 estimated from a 1988 aerial count made by C. Mackie, who with K. Hillman Smith also recorded 2,851 in Garamba National Park in 1988. In round figures, these counts suggest a total of some 26,000 Common Hippopotamus for the two parks. Numbers elsewhere in DR Congo probably do not amount to more than a few thousand, perhaps bringing the country-wide total up to about 30,000.
There are not many Common Hippopotamus in the remaining East African countries of Rwanda and Burundi. Numbers on the Akagera River have been mentioned above in the section on Tanzania and there are probably still a few in wallows within the Akagera National Park or Mutara Game Reserve but no recent information has been received. Common Hippopotamus occur in Burundi on the Malagarazi, Ruvubu and Rusizi Rivers but there are conflicting reports over numbers. P. Chardonnet reports good populations numbered in hundreds and P. C. Trenchard puts the total on these rivers as over 1,000 as a conservative estimate. K. M. Doyle, however, casts doubt on these figures, for along a 120 km stretch of the Ruvubu River where several hundred were reported by P. Chardonnet, he recorded only 39 animals, all but two within the Ruvubu National Park, although there may have been more in wallows etc. away from the river, which were not surveyed.
Although there are many gaps in the data, the above analysis suggests that there could be as many as 70,000 Common Hippopotamus in the east African countries.
Southern Africa
Southern Africa also has flourishing populations, with Zambia containing the biggest population, 40,000, of any country in Africa. Others with large numbers include Mozambique (16,000–20,500), Malawi (10,000), Zimbabwe (6,900) and South Africa (5,000). The total in the whole of the region may be around 80,000.
No information has been received from Angola. According to Sidney (1965), the Common Hippopotamus was widespread throughout Angola particularly in the east on the Cunene, Cubango, Cuando, Cuanza, Longa and Zambezi Rivers.
There are probably more Common Hippopotamus in Zambia than in any other single country. F. E. C. Munyenyembe puts the country-wide total at 40,000 with 20-25,000 in the Luangwa Valley according to R. H. V. Bell. They are reported to be widespread on the Kafue Flats and in Lochinvar National Park. Neighbouring Malawi, although small, is also densely populated with Common Hippopotamus, which occur on all rivers and lakes of sufficient size. The main concentrations are at Elephant Marsh (lower Shire River), the south-west arm of Lake Malawi, Upper Shire River and Lake Malombe in Liwonde National Park. R. H. V. Bell makes a guess that there are some 10,000 Common Hippopotamus in the whole of Malawi. Further south in Zimbabwe, the species is still common. It is found on most of the large rivers particularly the Limpopo. Zambezi and the Sabi/Lundi systems. It is also found in smaller rivers and dams where there is permanent water. Some wander over long distances to provide isolated records. The only estimate for the country-wide total is that made by R. B. Martin on the basis of some limited counts, which have revealed some dense populations e.g. 2,000 on a 50-km section of the Zambezi. His estimate is 6,900, of which 5,530 occur in national parks or reserves, 1,020 on communal lands and 350 elsewhere.
A surprising number of Common Hippopotamus appear to have survived in Mozambique, at least up to 1986, despite the recent civil strife. The species is still widely distributed throughout the country and is present on most river systems. Several national parks and reserves contain hippopotamus although only Gorongosa, with about 2,000, has a sizeable population. L. Tello's estimate made in 1986 year puts the total at between 16,000 and 20,500 for the country as a whole with most (10,000 -12,000) in the Zambezi Wildlife Utilization Area, which includes Marromeu Reserve and four safari hunting blocks. It is also contiguous with the Gorongosa National Park. This is the only region where numbers have increased (by some 20% since 1974). Elsewhere there has been a decline, except in Tete Province, whose population of between 1,500 and 2,500 is said to be stable.
Namibia is too dry to support many Common Hippos except in the north, where the species is present in some numbers on the Cuando and Zambezi Rivers in the Caprivi Strip. Elsewhere it occurs along the boundary with Angola on the Okavango River. Botswana is also too dry, except in the north of the country, where some animals occur in the Okavango Delta and in the Chobe/Linyati River system. A few (18+) exist on the Limpopo in the east. Outside this area, a small population may still exist near Ghanzi although some observers think this is unlikely. C. A. Spinage puts the total in northern Botswana at 1,600 in the wet season and 500 in the dry.
Common Hippopotamus are confined to the north-east of the country in the Republic of South Africa, mainly in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West provinces and the northern tip of KwaZulu-Natal. Most of them are in the Kruger National Park in perennial rivers, dams and the larger pools of seasonal rivers. The total counted in the park in 1989 was 2,761 with 2,575 in rivers and 191 in dams and pools. R. H. Taylor gives a total (for 1986) of 1,264 for KwaZulu-Natal, with the largest concentration (595) on Lake St Lucia, but he suggests a better estimate of 1,423 averaged over the five years 1982-1986. Those in kwaZulu-Natal outside the Kruger National Park are mainly confined to the large rivers in the eastern and northern regions of the province. These figures suggest that there are approaching 5,000 Common Hippopotamus in the country as a whole.
It is not possible to provide a total for the whole of southern Africa because of the lack of data from Angola, which used to support large populations and may do so still, although the disturbed political situation in the country makes it more likely that most hippopotamus have been shot. Assuming the worst and that only a few hundred remain in Angola, a very rough estimate for the regional total would be 80,000.
Follow link below for Table 1: country information including population status, trend, etc.
|Current Population Trend:
|Additional data:
|Habitat and Ecology:
|As its name suggests, the Common Hippopotamus is an amphibious creature, which spends the day in water and emerges at night to feed. The hippopotamus uses the water only as a retreat and it does not eat aquatic vegetation to any extent. Open water is not essential and the animal can survive in muddy wallows but it must have access to permanent water to which it can return in the dry season. The essential factor is that the skin must remain moist for it will crack if exposed to the air for long periods. The skin physiology is complex and not fully understood but is clearly adapted for an amphibious existence. A curious feature is the red secretion from modified sweat glands, which is thought to have an antibiotic function.
The water body must be large enough to accommodate a number of animals for the Common Hippo is highly gregarious when resting by day. The social habits of the species have been studied by Klingel (1991), who found that the "schools" are unstable groups of females and bachelors. The social system is based on mating territoriality. Common Hippos are gregarious, social, polygymous animals. Females become sexually mature between the ages of 7–9, and males 9–11. Females typically bear a single offspring every other year as lactation can extend for 18 months. Territorial males monopolize a length of the shoreline of the river or lake but tolerate bachelors within the territory provided they behave submissively. Non-breeding males also settle outside territorial areas, especially seasonal wallows. Fights for the possession of a territory can be fierce and the animals may inflict considerable damage on each other with their huge canines but minor conflicts are usually settled by threat displays, of which the "yawn" is the most conspicuous. Territorial males do not normally fight each other and severe fights usually occur only when a bachelor challenges a territorial male for control of its territory. There is little association between animals when they are feeding at night, except between females and their dependent young, and the males do not then behave in a territorial fashion.
The male Common Hippopotamus, rarely the female, spreads its dung by wagging its tail vigorously while defecating, both in the water and on land, where it is thought to have a signalling rather than a territorial function. The dung piles may serve for orientation.
Vocalizations take the form of complex bellows and grunts, which presumably have a signalling function. Sounds may be made either on land or in the water and may be transmitted simultaneously through air and water. This is the only known case of amphibious calls in a mammal.
It is probable that the need to avoid the direct rays of the sun has determined the nocturnal feeding habits of the animal. It leaves its wallow soon after sunset and spends the night grazing on short grass swards for up to several kilometres from water. These swards, which are kept short by the activities of the hippopotamus, are known as hippo lawns. Although the hippopotamus grazes every night, except for mothers with very young calves, there are usually animals present in the water all night, as some return after a few hours and others leave later. The animal feeds by plucking the grass with its wide, muscular lips and passing it to the back of the mouth to be ground up by the molars. The front teeth (incisors and canines) play no part in feeding. The amount of food ingested is small relative to the size of the animal but its resting habits by day reduce its energetic demands. The stomach is a complex four-chambered structure with a ruminant type digestion although the animal does not chew the cud.
The ecological requirements for hippopotamus, therefore, include a supply of permanent water, large enough for the territorial males to spread out, and adequate grazing on open grassland within a few kilometres of the daytime resting sites.
|Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine
|Major Threat(s):
The primary threats to Common Hippos are illegal and unregulated hunting for meat and ivory (found in the canine teeth) and habitat loss. Illegal or unregulated hunting of Common Hippos has been found to be particularly high in areas of civil unrest (Kayanja 1989; Shoumatoff 2000; Hillman Smith et al. 2003). A recent field survey found that Common Hippo populations in DR Congo have declined more than 95% as a result of intense hunting pressure, during more than eight years of civil unrest and fighting (Hillman Smith et al. 2003). Widespread poaching for meat has also been reported from Burundi and Ivory Coast (Associated Press 2003; H. Rainey pers. comm.). In many countries were Common Hippos are found, populations are not confined to protected areas; some of these unprotected areas are included in Table 1 (see Supplementary Material). Although it is likely that the majority of the total Common Hippo population occurs in some form of protected area (national park, biosphere, game or forest reserve, sanctuary, conservation area), the proportion of protected Common Hippos likely varies among countries. For countries with a high proportion of Common Hippo populations outside protected areas, the likelihood of persistence is much lower as there is no impediment to hunting or incentive for habitat protection.
Estimates of the amount of Common Hippo ivory illegally exported have also increased. A 1994 assessment by TRAFFIC, the monitoring agency of international trade for the IUCN, reported that illegal trade in hippo ivory increased sharply following the international elephant ivory ban in 1989. Between 1991-1992, approximately 27,000 kg of hippo canine teeth were exported, an increase of 15,000 kg from 1989–1990 estimates (Weiler et al. 1994). In 1997, more than 1,700 hippo teeth en route from Uganda to Hong Kong were seized by customs officials in France (TRAFFIC 1997). Five thousand kilos of hippo teeth (from an estimated 2,000 hippos) of unknown origins were exported from Uganda in 2002 (New Vision 2002).
Common Hippo's reliance on fresh water habitats appears to put them at odds with human populations and adds to their vulnerability, given the growing pressure on fresh water resources across Africa (WWC 2004). Habitat loss stems from water diversion related to agricultural development (Cole 1992; Jacobsen and Kleynhaus 1993; Viljoen 1995; Viljoen and Biggs 1998) as well as larger-scale development in and around wetland areas (Jacobsen and Kleynhaus 1993). Reports of human mortalities from Common Hippo interactions have also increased in recent years. Ten countries reported growing numbers of hippo-human conflicts, in several cases exacerbated by drought conditions.
Although there are several ongoing research projects in captive facilities and with wild populations, little research has focused directly on common hippo conservation. Mwanika et al. (2003) considered the genetic consequences of the intense unregulated hunting that occurred in Uganda in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Based on both nuclear and mitochondrial data, they conclude that although populations were reduced to 70% of initial population size, their current levels of genetic diversity are substantial and not a cause for concern. This suggests that for some populations, once the hunting disturbance is removed, recovery from intense hunting is likely and may not result in detrimental long-term population effects.
Lewison (2007) evaluates the relative impacts of the known threats to persistence—habitat loss (from agricultural or larger-scale development) and hunting pressure—on a model population. While accounting for rainfall variability and demographic stochasticity, the model results suggest that combinations of habitat loss and even moderate levels of adult mortality from hunting (1% of adults) can lead to a relatively high probabilities of population declines over the next 30–40 years.
See the Supplementary Material for Table 1: country information including population status, trend, etc.
|Conservation Actions:
This species is listed on CITES Appendix II.
There are numerous protected areas across the countries where Common Hippos are found. Although in most countries the official level of protection is good, the level of enforcement of these regulations is poor in many countries. In some countries, Common Hippos are still found outside of protected areas.
Associated Press. 2003. Hippo population decimated in Burundi, Aloys Niyoyita.
Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (comps and eds). 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Cole, M. 1992. Zimbabwe's hippos threatened by drought. New Scientist 134(1817): 9.
Games, I. 1990. A survey of hippopotamus in the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania. Report to the Director of Wildlife, Tanzania.
Hillman Smith, A. K., Merode, E., Smith, F., Ndey, A., Mushenzi, N. and Mboma, G. 2003. Virunga National Park – North Aerial Census of March 2003. Unpublished report ICCN, ZSL, FZL, IRF, USFWS.
IUCN. 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 5 October 2008).
Jacobsen, N. H. G. and Kleynhaus, C. J. 1993. The importance of weirs as refugia for hippopotamus and crocodiles in the Limpopo River, South Africa. Water South Africa 19: 301-306.
Kayanja, F. I. B. 1989. The reproductive biology of the male hippopotamus. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London 61: 181-186.
Lewison, R. L. 2007. Population responses to natural and human-mediated disturbances: Assessing the vulnerability of the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius). African Journal of Ecology 45: 407-415.
Manlius, N. 2000. Biogéographie et Ecologie historique de l'hippopotame en Egypte. Belgian Journal of Zoology 130: 59-66.
Mwanika, V. B., Siegismundo, H. R., Bosco, J., Okello, A., Masembe, C., Arctander, P. and Nyakaana, S. 2003. A recent bottleneck in the warthog and elephant populations of Queen Elizabeth National Park, revealed by a comparative study of four mammalian species in Uganda national parks. Animal Conservation 6: 237–245.
New Vision. 2002. UWA Allows Export of Questionable Teeth.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1993. Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos. IUCN SSC Pigs and Peccaries Specialist Group and Hippos Specialist Group. IUCN – The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland.
PPHSG Hippo Specialist Sub Group. 2004. Specialist Sub Group website. Available at: http://moray.ml.duke.edu/projects/hippos/.
Shambaugh, J., Oglethorpe, J. and Ham, R. 2001. The Trampled Grass: Mitigating the impacts of armed conflict on the environment. Biodiversity Support Program, Washington, DC, USA.
Shoumatoff, A. 2000. Four World Heritage sites in danger in Eastern Congo: Biodiversity conservation in the vortex of civil war. Report to the United Nations Foundation.
TAWIRI. 2001. Total Count of Hippopotamus in Tanzania.
TRAFFIC. 1997. Seizures and prosecutions. TRAFFIC Bulletin 17(1).
Vega, I. 1995. The hippo, threatened due to ivory trade. Quercus, III, Mayo.
Viljoen, P. C. 1995. Changes in number and distribution of hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) in the Sabie River, Kruger National Park, during the 1992 drought. Koedoe 38: 115-121.
Viljoen, P. C. and Biggs, H. C. 1998. Population trends of hippopotami in the rivers of Kruger National Park, South Africa. In: N. Dunstone and M. L. Gorman (eds), Behavior and Ecology of Riparian Mammals. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, pp. 251–279. Cambridge Press, London, UK.
Weiler, P., De-Meulenaer, T. and Vanden-Block, A. 1994. Recent trends in the international trade of hippopotamus ivory. TRAFFIC Bulletin 15: 47-49.
World Water Council – WWC. 2004. Analysis of the Third World Water Forum. Secretariat of the 3rd World Water Forum.
|Lewison, R. & Oliver, W. (IUCN SSC Hippo Specialist Subgroup). 2008. Hippopotamus amphibius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T10103A3163790. . Downloaded on 21 August 2017.
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A:Despite today's advanced technology, water spills, dirt and other abrasive substances can damage a wood floor's finish. Location, traffic patterns, how often the floor is vacuumed and cleaned, children and/or pets are all factors that influence wear and durability.
Q:What happens to this floor from dog urine
1 answer
A:Pet urine, when cleaned up quick isn't an issue but if left to dry it can burn finish as it is a caustic.
Q:I have 4 dogs, 3 kids. How will this product hold up in a high traffic area? Planning on installing in Living and family room 1st. floor.
1 answer
A:Despite today's advanced technology, water spills, dirt and other abrasive substances can damage a wood floor's finish. Location, traffic patterns, how often the floor is vacuumed and cleaned, children and/or pets are all factors that influence wear and durability.
Q:can it be glued to cement floor
1 answer
A:No. This is designed to float. You can glue-down any standard tongue and groove engineered floor.
Q:does this product require a vapor barrier when installed on concrete
1 answer
A:Yes it does.
Q:Does this item have accessories with it? stair nose, moldings or trim. If not how do you match this floor with thses items to complete a floor? Also which size engineered flooring is best, 7/16 or 3/8?
1 answer
A:We do not at this time have all the accessories to match this material, you can purchase unfinished and stain them to match your flooring or accent your flooring with our primed white moldings


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The commander of a mobile construction battalion based in Jacksonville was relieved of his command due to mismanagement and major program deficiencies, according to the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.
The Navy announced that Capt. Roger Motzko, Commodore, 3rd Naval Construction Regiment, relieved Capt. Sean McDonell on Tuesday due to his loss of confidence in McDonell's ability to command Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14.
NMCB 14 is a Seabee reserve unit, based in Jacksonville, is capable of providing a wide range of military construction, including roads, bridges, bunkers, airfields and logistics bases, and worldwide humanitarian efforts.
Cmdr. Todd Smith, operations officer of the 3rd NCR, will be interim commanding officer until Cmdr. Mark Williams takes command next summer. As a prior battalion commanding officer, Smith is familiar with the operations of an NMCB as well as the needs of the command and its sailors.
Copyright 2012 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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- None
- None
The public relations sector covers a broad variety of roles which have communication, organisation and overseeing the flow of information between an organisation and the public as its core factors of employment.
Due to the nature of this sector, recruitment agencies are more likely to target those looking for employment who know how to efficiently and effectively time manage, whilst demonstrating strong communication skills that can be applied professionally via both telephone and email.
As a representative of a company, working in public relations requires highly developed IT skills with a developed knowledge of basic computer programs as essential. In - House PR staff will also need a trained eye and to be attuned to the standards and ethos of the company as you are liable for any miscommunication errors made in the transition from company to client.
Often with in-house public relations, there is a multiplicity of internal stakeholders to converse with and the role often requires total immersion within the organisation. In house PR teams may be quite small, so staff are likely to cover a variety of roles and sometimes be involved with internal management and marketing.
Entry into this sector is often competitive with levels of recruitment for jobs often requiring a university graduate with at least a reputable BA, preferably in journalism, marketing, media studies, business studies or business and communications. Usually, graduates start off by occupying public relation officer roles before progressing on to higher paid and more senior managerial positions.
Starting salaries for graduates are within the region of £20,000 per annum, depending of their relevant experience and qualifications.
View your closest or specialist recruiters by using the Agency Search above.


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Globalisation is incomplete. Markets are open, but in most sectors corporate ownership is still dominated by companies from one side of the Atlantic or the other. This is becoming anachronistic and is set to change.
Nowhere is this more true than in the oil and gas business, where the international market is dominated by what used to be called the Seven Sisters. The formation has changed. Mobil, Amoco and Gulf have gone but the group remains recognisably similar to what existed 80 years ago and still led by BP, Shell, Exxon, Total and Chevron. The only state company that has been truly successful and which can seriously be added to the list is Statoil. The rest of the state companies remain very much creatures of the nation state in which they were established. Read more


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Datastage Developer
- Recruiter
- Resource 1
- Location
- Salary
- Competitive
- Posted
- 19 Feb 2013
- Closes
- 27 Feb 2013
- Sector
- Technology, Web Development
- Hours
- Permanent
Resource 1 is in need of a Datastage Support/Developer for a contract-for-hire position in Rosemont, IL. The selected individual will be part of a 6 person support team that will rotate every 5 weeks for 24/7 support of data warehousing ETL and reporting systems. Support runs Friday-Friday 8pm-8pm. Person will be responsible for closely monitoring applications and reports which are scheduled to run on a daily & weekly basis, monitoring production applications and databases to make sure that all the applications are running without any downtime and logging issues in to the HP/SM defect tracking & test case management system.
On the off weeks the primary duties will include troubleshooting and debugging ETL dashboards and reports, analysing issues reported in production and providing the root cause of the problem, define if the issue exists in the application or database, and tuning SQL statements to optimize performance.
The position requires:
5-7 years of experience with either OBIEE/Informatica and Datastage or OBIEE/Hyperion product stack with EDW background, SQL, SQL*Loader, Oracle PL/SQL, Oracle APEX and Unix Scripting abilities. It is extremely important that this individual be a team player with excellent analytical, programming, written and verbal communication skills.


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Planning your Holiday travel to Houston? Looking for the best value on a Hotel Room in Houston? Look no further! For a limited time, Hotel Sorella is offering a free night's stay*. Hotel Sorella is running a special *stay 2 … Continue reading
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/8/2013 (1470 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Before I get to what I wanted to write about, I have this to say about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers naming Max Hall the starter exactly one game after Tim Burke said Justin Goltz would be the guy going forward.
This is why you don't make absolute statements in pro football, or in life in general for that matter.
I don't care about regime changes, I don't care if Burke's fingers were crossed, and I don't care if Hall ends up being the next Brett Favre. Things change all the time in this game and in life, and if you don't modify your language to reflect that, you don't know what you are doing.
Otherwise, when things happen, and circumstances force you to change your mind, you look foolish -- let alone the message that this sort of flip-flopping sends to your players.
Now back to our regularly-scheduled programming.
The very first day I arrived in Winnipeg in 2001, head coach Dave Ritchie drove me over to the lunch room to meet some of my new teammates, one of whom happened to be Wade Miller. I was only there for an hour at most, but somehow, by the time I stood up to go to my first meeting, I had already promised Miller I would get the equipment manager from my old team to send him a new pair of turf shoes. As a new player, I was hoping to make a good first impression with my teammates, and Miller read that like a picture book and turned it into a free pair of $150 kicks.
Fast forward to 2013, and things haven't changed that much.
He had a hot tub delivered to his house this winter, but they left it on his driveway. Thirteen years later, once again, I somehow found myself doing him a favour, only this time I was at his new place with a dozen other bewildered schmucks, trying to lift a hot tub, all the while wondering what the hell we were doing there.
Wade has always had a knack and talent for getting things done, and for surrounding himself with the right people to help him along the way -- sometimes whether they wanted to or not, or even realized what they were getting themselves into.
I'll be the first to admit that I never thought Miller would be CEO of this football team. But then again, I also never thought he would make the football team in any of the five years we played together in Winnipeg. He wasn't very athletic, he wasn't very fast, and he wasn't very big, but somehow he still beat out younger players year after year that were brought in to replace him.
I ended up learning that he knew more about the game and its intricacies than his competitors did. He didn't make the same mental mistakes they would under pressure, either. He never backed down from anything or anyone on the field, no matter how many times he might have gotten dumped on his head. He was always willing to stick his nose in places where his rivals wouldn't or couldn't, and no player at his position ever outworked him.
It was never pretty. I always likened the subtlety and suave of Miller to that of a beached hammerhead shark, but he always got the job done, and you wouldn't want to get in his way. He might have had to kick, claw, and scratch his way to get there, but he always ended up where he wanted to be.
From the beginning, I knew he was an aspiring entrepreneur, but I didn't imagine there was much chance that would work out too well either. Though he was obviously shrewd and driven, he wasn't splitting atoms in his free time, and he didn't make a lot of money playing football.
Yet every day, before practice and after practice, he worked at his other interests and on his ideas, with his business partners. He used to joke that football practice was merely his extended lunch break where he took time out of his day to do something fun.
Before I knew it, shortly after he retired from a football career that shouldn't have been as long as it was, he was named a Top 40 under-40 entrepreneur in Canada.
Miller has always been the underdog, and he has always been an overachiever. There had to have been times where all he had with him at the table were guts, determination, and perseverance, but that was all he needed in many instances to get the job done.
While memories of watching the new CEO of the Blue Bombers perform a little, Gangnam Style, in Winnipeg's version of Dancing With Celebrities, still give me nightmares, you know when Wade commits to something he will kill himself trying to make it happen. It may not be pretty, but I know of maltreated mules with fewer stubborn tendencies.
If he can pull this one off, and turn this franchise around for the better, I just might start giving him the benefit of the doubt from now on.
Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays and the days following game days in the Free Press.
Twitter: @DougBrown97


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A suburb in the Detroit Area, White Lake is mostly populated with white trash who consider themselves "gangstas". One may find these rednecks parading about in unfashionably low pants and polos. They also sport very few teeth, and those that are remaining are atriously black. It has been said that at night, the couches and refridgerators planted on the dying lawns come alive and reproduce, placing their offspring on the innocent's landscaping. It is also extremely common to smell the aroma of burning garbage as early as five o'clock in the morning. This is because the city of White Lake does not repremand charring waste without a permit. The words "Oh, poor you." Are often followed after this location.
There go the White Lakians again, you know from White Lake, MI terrorizing the neighborhoods with Hickism.
by Zoë C. April 18, 2007
The Urban Dictionary Mug
One side has the word, one side has the definition. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Lotsa space for your liquids.Buy the mug


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As the race for London 2012 places heats to boiling point, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey reckons a story is ready to be made for the winner of next week's Olympic Team GB 100m trials.
The 23-year-old Sutton & District sprinter continued his build up to the domestic blue ribbon event at Meeting Lille Metropole in Villeneuve D'Ascq, France, on Saturday, where he finished third in the men's 100m final with a season's best mark of 10.35 seconds.
Local favourite Jimmy Vicaut stormed to a 10.15 victory while Jamaica's Ainsley Waugh, a winner in Montreuil a few days earlier, followed in 10.32. Fellow Brit Tyson Edgar came fourth.
"It was alright, my start wasn't bad," said Aikines-Aryeetey, a former youth and junior world 100m champion.
"I've learned a little lesson in this race which was to relax in the middle phase which helped because I was so far down, that brought me through a little bit.
"This was my third outing this season so I'm lacking races obviously, it was important for me to come here and get my legs going again and feel comfortable racing again."
As the situation currently stands in regards to the UKA Olympic qualifying standard, only former footballer Adam Gemili and Croydon's James Dasaolu have so far this season achieved the A mark of 10.18.
Aikines-Aryeetey has also achieved the A mark from last summer but admits he needs to do more improvements before the Trials on June 22 – 24 in Birmingham.
However, he is confident of clinching a London 2012 spot.
"I'll say it will be one of the most hotly-contested events for a long time but we need to run a bit faster first," he added.
"People like Gemili and Dasaolu don't need to run any faster obviously but I'm talking about the likes of myself, Simeon Williamson, Tyrone Edgar, Dwain Chambers, Mark-Lewis Francis who all of us need to run faster - but it's coming.
"I don't think it's a fact about Gemili giving us all a kick up the backside to reach the qualifying time, he's just reacted well to the Olympics.
"You will find a lot of the youngsters not just the men's 100m have actually reacted really well during Olympic time.
"They are not trying to give us a kick up the bum, they are just trying to do what they are trying to do. It's all up to us to step up I guess.
"These trials will be the story of a making. I guess it's written for someone like Adam to come and win but in the same time it's written for someone for Dwain to go and win it after what he's gone through, it's written for me to do it after so many injuries I've had.
"But fingers crossed everything will go my way. I'll be confident and on a level playing field come the Trials."


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Bright Horizons CEO David Lissy '87
CEO David Lissy '87 has a lot to do with why Bright Horizons is friendly to families, clients, investors, and employees. by Tamar Morad
When talking about the hundreds of child care centers he runs in the United States and abroad, Dave Lissy is as enthusiastic as one of his clients' tots who has just been set loose in a candy store. He has good reason: The chief executive of Bright Horizons Family Solutions, headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, has been unusually successful in a field typified by low profit margins, high barriers to entry, and high labor costs—a field most entrepreneurs won't touch with a 10-foot pogo stick.
But since Dave became its CEO in 2001, Bright Horizons' sales have doubled to $700 million, centers have increased to 650 from 390, and the number of clients has more than doubled to 700. The company employs 18,000 people across 43 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Europe, and lists 95 Fortune 500 companies, including Allstate, Bank of America, DuPont, and IBM, among its clients.
That success reflects both Dave's entrepreneurial abilities and the company's unique business model, formulated by founders Roger Brown and Linda Mason in 1986: employer-sponsored child care. Bright Horizons' corporate and nonprofit clients build space for a center at or near their own offices. Thus, Bright Horizons never pays for real estate, allowing it to keep tuition affordable, plow more money into teacher salaries—which Dave claims are 10 to 20 percent higher than regional competitors—and offer benefits like health care and 401k plans that most child care operations don't. Most clients also subsidize tuition for their employees' children.
The formula works: Employees get access to affordable child care near their places of work, while employers boost productivity by reducing the high costs of employee absenteeism and turnover. And Bright Horizons turns a profit.
Dave attributes the company's success to its ability to capitalize on two developing nationwide trends. First is the fact that a growing number of organizations are acknowledging that reliable, affordable day care translates into more work days for employees. Simultaneously, many university and college administrators are responding to studies showing that child care challenges are among the causal factors behind the continuing inequity between men and women in tenure-track positions. That's the case, says Dave, at Johns Hopkins University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Georgia Tech, which all have Bright Horizons centers (MIT has three).
Second is the growing desire of highly educated parents to prepare their children for kindergarten, which has become more rigorous than in earlier generations, and beyond. "Gone are the days when a parent thinks of day care as just a babysitting service," says Dave. "Today it's all about 'school readiness.' Parents have a checklist of skills they want their preschoolers to get, and if you can't provide those, parents are smart enough to take their children elsewhere."
Dave's business sense was sharpened at IC, where he helped pay his tuition and living expenses by working as a waiter. A management major and economics minor whose leadership skills were already evident—he was president of his senior class—Dave met his wife, then Suzanne Schulman '88, on campus. The friends he made at Ithaca, he says, "became my defining friends for life." After one of his closest friends, John Sweeney '87, died just a few years after graduation, Dave helped establish a scholarship in his name—the first of many ongoing connections to Ithaca College (see story).
After graduating, Dave moved to New Jersey and took an entry-level job selling health care plans to businesses for U.S. Health Care, which was later acquired by Aetna. He was promoted up the ladder, eventually running Aetna's New England operations. In 1997 Bright Horizons recruited him as chief development officer.
"Bright Horizons' founders were in the business of doing something meaningful and good for people—they were out to make a difference—and at the same time the company had the underpinnings of a solid business," says Dave. "I am very enthusiastic about balancing social responsibility and doing good business, so I like to say that Bright Horizons has the soul of a nonprofit organization and the muscle of a profit-making firm. If one finds a way to combine those two things, the business will have great power to sustain itself and blossom."
Bright Horizons' Foundation for Children, the nonprofit arm, provides an extra dose of soul: company employees help build and run the foundation's smaller child centers, called "Bright Spaces," now in 125 homeless shelters across the country.
While its competitors are mostly nonprofit entities, Bright Horizons went public in 1998. As CEO, Dave finds new corporate sponsors and identifies acquisition opportunities, mostly small local networks of employer-sponsored day care centers. He works with clients to formulate their ideal combination of services. For instance, the two centers at Toyota's manufacturing plants in Kentucky and Indiana operate 24 hours a day, since Toyota employees often work shifts. And at the headquarters of retail giant Land's End in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, the center is open extra hours between Thanksgiving and early January to accommodate parent-employees working extended days during the biggest shopping season of the year. Many centers offer emergency back-up care for school-age children, so parents don't have to lose work days during school holidays and during gaps between the end of school and the start of summer programs. Some centers are open to the surrounding community, or offer full-day kindergarten and after-school programs.
In the last year, Bright Horizons took two ambitious steps outside the day-care center arena: it began an emergency home-care service for sick children and elderly parents of employees, and acquired a company that provides employer-sponsored college admissions support services. "When we talked with our sponsors about what other areas of family life create stress for their employees, elder care and finding the right college for their kids were next on the list after child care," Dave says. Both ventures fit with the company's mission of offering solutions to work-family issues.
As do Dave's plans to expand the number of private elementary schools, some of which are subsidized by client companies, operated by Bright Horizons. Now numbering seven in four states, they are strategically located where there is a dearth of top-notch schools. The school in Bellevue, Washington, for instance, serves the huge influx of highly educated employees of Microsoft and Starbucks. Such private schools are attractive when school districts are tightening purse strings and the cost of private education is rising.
Bright Horizons has been named eight times by Fortune magazine to its prestigious list of "100 best companies to work for." Dave has also been named as one of "top 10 men in work/life" by Work Life Matters magazine. "One of his strengths," says Bright Horizons CFO Elizabeth Boland, who has worked with Dave for a decade, "is that he genuinely sees those awards, and all the accomplishments of Bright Horizons, as the result of the work of all its employees—not simply a reflection upon himself. The employees feel that appreciation, which is incredibly important in making the business thrive." Boland is as effusive in her praise of Dave as a manager: "His effectiveness as a leader comes from his breadth of knowledge about all the various components of the business and their interdependence. He then expresses his overall vision and strategy, and breaks that down into specific tasks that his employees can grasp and carry out."
Now, with 20 years of experience in business under his belt, Dave is devoting more time to Ithaca, where he sits on the fund-raising task force for the Campaign for Ithaca College [see pages 4–9], is on the School of Business Advisory Council, and in April was the keynote speaker at an awards ceremony for graduating business school students.
"Dave is a wonderful role model for our students," says Susan W. Engelkemeyer, dean of the School of Business, "because he has achieved success in business by doing something very meaningful—making family and work life easier for employees and therefore enhancing productivity for employers."
And that balance, in the end, is what it all comes down to. While Dave is undoubtedly a forceful spokesperson for Bright Horizons, perhaps the biggest indicator of his belief in the company is this: He and Suzanne sent their twin daughters, Sarah and Julia, now six, to the company's center in Watertown.


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Friday, July 18, 2014 - 23:09 PM
Matt Halpern Clinic at Russo Music Asbury Park, NJ
Periphery drummer, educator, and Meinl Cymbal artist Matt Halpern will host a clinic at Russo Music in Asbury Park, NJ one week from today at 7pm. Admission is free and there will be some Meinl door prizes as well, including a cymbal!
Location -
Russo Music
619 Lake Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
Time -
Admission -


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Tagged: 'David Justice'
The Best of the Best: Looking Back at the 1991 World Series Between the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins
October 28th, 2011 at 1:02 AM
As the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals will end an unbelievable World Series with a Game 7 tomorrow night, it's impossible not to be reminded of perhaps the greatest World Series ever played. The year was 1991. Both teams were wrapping up worst-to-first seasons, but in vastly different ways. The...
Worst to First: Looking Back on the Miracle Season of the 1991 Atlanta Braves
October 15th, 2011 at 11:21 PM
After finishing dead last in 1990, the Atlanta Braves would probably have been happy with simply an average team. A couple of key free agent signings and a 39-40 record during the first half showed the Braves were on the right track, but no one could have predicted what this...


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First let me include this disclaimer. I am not an employee of Workman, or Raichlen Inc. I'm just a schmoe with some grills and an appreciation for good food cooked over live fire.
When I learned Steve was going to do a cooking class right up the road from me on this website, I had no choice but to attend since I own all of his BBQ books and have tremendously enjoyed them. So if anything I had to thank him for the many entertaining evenings my family and friends have had consuming dishes I created using his books. I figured it would be fun to cook something up and bring it to see what he thought, so I decided on a pork shoulder since that's the main dish here in North Carolina and it was easy to do ahead of time. I smoked the shoulder with hickory; I usually use an oak/hickory blend but was out of oak at the moment. In any case, I smoked it for 10 hours and the meat was succulent with a good smoke ring. Only one problem. When I left fror the cooking class I forgot the sauce!
When I pulled into the parking lot of A Southern Season, Steve's BBQ Bus was easily visible and had 5 grills setup next to it; a Weber Gold, Weber Ranch, Weber Summit Gold and a tow-behind with 2 rigs that could alternately use gas or charcoal/wood. A number of dining tables seating 4 had been set up in a semi-circle around a line of tables that were stacked with ingedients and cooking utensils. I walked up and introduced myself to Steve since there were few people around as of yet. He was friendly and cordial and noticed my pork shoulder offering immediately. I almost didn't have to offer it to him before he was happily consuming it and complimenting me on my work. I certainly appreciated what seemed his genuine approval of my Carolina Q, I just wished I hadn't forgotten my sauce! After that, I offered to help setup but he indicated he would need some help once the grills were fired up. A number of Southern Season's employees and a chef were helping Steve with prep so I took a spot and soaked it in as racks of food and tools were ushered from the store to the BBQ area. Soon more students began filtering in and the tables were almost full.
The weather was very pleasant, as good as you could ask for with a mild breeze which played a trick on Steve and shifted so that the smoke was carrying over the tables. By the time cooking began in earnest however, the breeze had lightened somewhat and only one table had to be moved. All 5 grills were going full bore when Steve began class with Smoked Tomato Gazpacho from his Miami Spice book. They used the Weber Gold for this and in no time the soup was done and everyone was enjoying a cup. Next up was beer can chicken. Steven polled the audience as to if anyone had not heard of beer can chicken to which a number of hands went up and Steve showed some relief in saying "I'm so glad there's still a market for it" and everyone got a chuckle. Throughout the class Steven had a number of funny quirky things to say which made the evening that much more entertaining. With the number of dishes he was preparing, I was impressed with how he was handling the logistics of it all since one of the biggest things I wanted to get out of the class was to see how he managed time. He's very deft with it I can assure you.
After the beer can chickens were going, Steven suggested we cook something we could eat right away so he moved on to Shrimp on Sugarcane w/ Mount Gay Rum (mmmmm!). He showed us the best way to prepare the shrimp and offered numerous alternatives to sugar cane to skewer shrimp including cinnamon stick, rosemary and lemon grass. He also showed us the best way to slice sugar cane to get nice even skewers. After he finished prepping the shrimp, he asked for a volunteer to cook them on the Weber Ranch and since the Ranch is my dream rig at the moment, my hand shot up for a chance to cook not only on a Weber Ranch but on STEVE'S Ranch!!! Lucky for me, everyone else was too timid to volunteer and I got the job! Up to the Ranch I went and was handed the tongs. I thought I'd be nervous but it was like a duck to water once I was standing there in front of the grill so I got to it. The only complication was I had 2 Southern Seasons employees 'helping' me and they weren't well versed in grilling shrimp. The fire Steve had going in the Ranch was quite hot and since shrimp can go from raw to overdone so quickly, I had to work twice as hard to compensate for my helpers mistakes as they would dump the shrimp on the grill one the hottest part of the grate. Since I also had to glaze them as they cooked, the shrimp were better off in a slightly cooler zone of the fire so I had to move shrimp from where they dumped them to the proper heat before glazing. On top of that, one of them was intent on continuously flipping the shrimp so that it was hard to keep track. I think I did ok with them considering but a couple ended up burnt. But I figure 3-4 burnt shrimp out of 5 or so pounds wasn't so bad and everyone seemed to enjoy them. I'd like to try this with tequilla now. For me, I was just tickled to be grilling right next to Steve on his Weber Ranch while he taught . Wow! I hope I get another chance someday soon!
After the shrimp, Steven went on to Grilled Corn with Shadon Beni Butter from his How To Grill book which was exquisite. The corn was silver queen and he cooked them with the husks off. Yum! Next up was Bacon Grilled Trout from the BBQ USA book and Steven demonstarted the techniques involved with preparing that dish. This dish was probably my favorite of all of them, maybe because I hadn't tried it before but it was certainly very good and would reccomend it to all of my BBQ brothers and sisters the world over. About the time I was having the trout, a local paper came over and interviewed me about BBQ, Steve and his books. She asked me which books I owned and I told her all of them. Then I was asked which was my favorite and I told her all of them. They all have their unique contributions and to single one out wouldn't be fair since I derive such enjoyment from all of them. Besides, it might be printed so it wouldn't be prudent to limit Steve's potential sales With that, Steve had some volunteers help him with Nicaraguan-Style Steak (Churrasco) from the Beer Can Chicken book and emphasized surface area exposed to the flame and the importance of flattening out some meats to expose as much of the meat as possible to the fire. No surprise, this dish to was superb. Not a dud all night but then I didn't expect there would be from a master of the flame as Raichlen unquestionably is.
Lastly was Coco Loco Brulee from The Barbeuce Bible. I had never done a brulee so I volunteered for this as well and enjoyed torching the deserts in their halved coconut shells. It was truly a beautiful desert worthy of any five star table. As I started carmelizing the ultra fine sugar on top of these, Steven asked if when I was a kid I'd blow up my toys with fireworks and thereby exposed me for the pyro I am! I suspect however, Steven was also this kind of kid and probably also owned a Hibachi by age 12 as I did.
When all was finished, Steve held a question & answer period and told a couple of fun stories about Iron Chef and other things. I think he's evolved from the entertainment aspect since taping his PBS series, not that he wasn't before, just that he's better now. I also got to meet Amy (aka Info). She was very nice and gregarious.
All in all I had a tremendous time, ate some good food, cooked with the master side by side, and met a couple of new BBQ brothers and sisters. If the BBQ bus rolls by near you, and you're a fan of his books or even curious about BBQ, by all means, take the opportunity to attend and be sure to give Steve a well deserved THANK YOU!


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/1/2013 (1677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
In one of the most chilling and riveting opening numbers in musical theatre, a fairground carny cajoles passersby to step up to the shooting gallery and play the kill-a-president game.
"Hey kid, failed your test? Dream girl unimpressed? Show her you're the best," sings the pitchman in Everybody's Got the Right as he presses a gun into the hands of not just anybody but John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, Giuseppe Zangara, Leon Czolgosz, Samuel Byck, Lynette (Squeaky) Fromme, Sara Jane Moore and John Hinckley, all people who tried or succeeded in assassinating United States presidents from Lincoln to Reagan.
They become the gun-toting chorus of the horrifying and hilarious Assassins, the opening production of the 2013 Master Playwright Festival dedicated to Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the music and lyrics to a provocative script by John Weidman. The pair guide a journey into the dark heart of the American dream that is unlike any other theatre experience.
Guns play a leading role in this Toronto touring production that began its run at the RMTC Warehouse Thursday. They get pointed and fired often, surely an off-putting prospect for Sondheim fans still dealing with the senselessness of another mass shooting south of the border. Director Adam Brazier wisely lessens their impact by the use of faux pistols — they look like bent pipe guns — that don't get directed at the audience during the rousing 110 minute show (no intermission).
But spectators are not saved from being in the crosshairs of Sondheim's pointed tune, Gun Song, in which Booth declares, "And all you have to do, Is move your little finger, Move your little finger and — You can change the world." That's all anyone has to do to punch their ticket to immortality.
There is something dreadfully wrong with a country that has such a long and bloody history of assassins. Sondheim and Weidman hold up a funhouse mirror to American society that reflects the notion that these deranged killers feed on the same you-can-do-anything societal sales pitch as everyone else. What's worse is that the pair attempt to wring some sympathy for these devils.
This loosely structured musical features a series of vignettes between the assassins who convene like they are some all-ages club. They are joined by a Balladeer who offers the voice of popular opinion about the killers. Booth, who is accorded the most dignity in Assassins, claims he shot Lincoln, "the man who killed my country" while the Balladeer suggests that the stage actor fired his gun at the president because of bad reviews. Shane Carty is very effective as the club's elder statesman, offering encouragement as he insinuates himself into the minds of the other crackpots.
All the assassins are well portrayed with standouts including Steve Ross who brings an unhinged, impish appeal to Guiteau, who shot James Garfield in 1881. Graham Abbey makes the most of a pair of great scenes in which the Nixon wannabe killer Sam Byck wears a dishevelled Santa Claus costume while taping a rambling message about the dysfunctional U.S. government to his hero Leonard Bernstein. Melody A. Johnson and Janet Porter provide some hilarious comic relief as frumpy housewife Moore and Fromme, the deluded hippie girlfriend of Charles Manson, who both made an attempt on Gerald Ford's life.
While his lyrics are lethal, Sondheim's music is all over the place, hitting just about every American form. He seems to even tip his hat to the saccharine sentiments of '70s-style pop balladry with Unworthy of Your Love, performed as a dismaying duet by the guitar-toting Hinckley, hot for Jodie Foster, and Fromme, who is devoted to Manson.
The loose plot comes together in a creepy 11th-hour scene in which the assassins meet up at the book depository in Dallas with Lee Harvey Oswald and all pressure him to fire on President John F. Kennedy and join them in everlasting infamy. The impact of that act is brought home in Something Just Broke in which common folk remember where they were when Kennedy was shot and how they felt.
The Birdland Theatre/Talk is Free Theatre co-production exudes a polished confidence and executes a killer Assassins.


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Diana Kohnle
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is a form of
cardiomyopathy. This is a condition in which the heart muscle thickens due to genetic problems with the muscle's structure. As the muscle thickens, it must work harder to pump blood, which strains the heart muscle. Sometimes, the thickened muscle gets in the way of the blood leaving the heart and causes a blockage. This blockage can cause the nearby heart valve, called the mitral valve, to become leaky. HCM can cause uneven muscle growth which can cause the heart to pump in a disorganized way. Rarely, it can cause abnormal heart rhythms that can even be fatal.
There are three main types of cardiomyopathy:
Causes of HCM include:
In people over age 60, HCM is likely to be caused by or related to
high blood pressure.
HCM can occur in people of all ages. But, it is usually most severe when it occurs in younger people.
These factors increase your chance of developing this condition. Tell your doctor if you have any of these risk factors:
Symptoms include:
These symptoms can be caused by some of the side effects of the condition, including
(abnormal heart beats). The blocked or reduced blood flow is usually the cause of symptoms like lightheadedness, fainting, and difficulty breathing.
You will be asked about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done.
Your bodily fluids may be tested. This can be done with blood tests.
Your body's response to exercise may be tested. This can be done with a stress test.
Images may be taken of your bodily structures. This can be done with:
Your heart activity may be monitored. This can be done with a portable electrocardiogram (ECG).
The diagnosis is only made in people who do not have other causes of cardiomyopathy such as amyloidosis,
or valvular heart disease.
Those with HCM are at an increased risk of sudden death. However, many individuals with HCM live a normal, healthy life with few symptoms.
Treatment focuses on controlling symptoms and preventing complications. Talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for you. Treatment options include:
Medications may be used to help maintain proper and regular heart function. These may include beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers.
If you have an arrhythmia, you may need anti-arrhythmic drugs. You may also need blood-thinning medication.
The thickened portion of the heart muscle is cut and removed. This may be needed if you have severely blocked blood flow from the heart.
If the mitral valve is leaking, surgery may also be done to repair or replace the mitral valve.
Alcohol is injected into the arteries of the thickened portion of the heart. This helps to reduce the blockage in the heart and improve blood flow out of the heart.
is implanted if you are at increased risk for sudden death.
To help reduce your chances of getting HCM, take the following steps:
American Heart Association
Cardiomyopathy Association
Canadian Cardiovascular Society
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Cardiomyopathy in adults. American Heart Association website. Available at:
Accessed September 30, 2014.
Erwin JP, Nishimura RA, et al. Dual chamber pacing for patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: a clinical perspective in 2000.
Mayo Clin Proc
. 2000;75:173-180.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at:
http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T115426/Hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy. Updated March 20, 2016. Accessed September 28, 2016.
Maron BJ, Nishimura RA, et al. Assessment of permanent dual chamber pacing for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Circulation. 1999;99:2927-2933.
McCully RB, Nishimura RA, et al. Extent of clinical improvement after surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.
Circulation. 1996;94:467-471.
What is HCM? St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center website. Available at:
Accessed September 30, 2014.
Last reviewed August 2014 by Michael J. Fucci, DO
EBSCO Information Services is fully accredited by URAC. URAC is an independent, nonprofit health care accrediting organization dedicated to promoting health care quality through accreditation, certification and commendation.
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © EBSCO Information Services. All rights reserved.


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April 26, 2004
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Information from Texas Parks and Wildlife is available on radio and television, as well as the newsstand.
Passport to Texas, TPWD's radio series of weekday, 90-second stories is broadcast on about 100 Texas stations. Airing the week of April 26-30, what's the best way to watch animals? Act like one. Plus, discarded blue jeans and unused oilfield pipe might seem like trash, but it's a builder's treasure at a couple of remodeled state parks.
For more information, visit the Web (http://www.passporttotexas.org/).
Video News
TPWD provides video news reports that run in newscasts on numerous Texas stations, as well as on cable and satellite outlets around the nation. This month's stories include: Spring turkey season is here and with it come many hunters from both in and out of state to try their luck at bagging one of these creatures; the Great Texas Birding Classic brings bird watchers from all over the country to compete in a week-long 'birdathon.' This year, however, some contestants will leave their binoculars at home; this spring there are two new ways to enjoy state parks; buy a new State Parks Pass to get into the more than 120 state parks and then fish free when you get there; and once they were cargo ships during World War II, now they are home to marine life in the sea.
"Texas Parks & Wildlife" is a weekly half-hour television series seen on PBS affiliates around the state. Airing April 25- May 2, a Houston architect who builds boats; bats, bikes and buffalo at Caprock Canyons; camo clothing; learning search and rescue; and all about Comal Springs.
For more information about this week's programs and where they can be viewed, visit the Web (http://tpwd.texas.gov/tv).
Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine is always available on newsstands throughout the state and by subscription for $19.95 a year. To subscribe, call (800) 937-9393 or order online (http://www.tpwmagazine.com/).
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A Wharfe Valley residential sales and lettings agency is saying "You're hired!" to its inaugural intake of apprentices.
Linley & Simpson, which has offices in Brook Street, Ilkley, and Station Road, Horsforth, is to recruit five new starters with the aim of equipping them with all the skills and knowledge required to pursue a successful career in the industry.
They will spend a year at the award-winning company gaining a first-hand insight into the profession while studying for a NVQ level two in either estate agency or letting agency.
"This is one of a number of ways in which we are investing in the future," said HR and training manager, Paula Ingham.
"We want to support the pool of young talent that exists across Yorkshire – and train, mentor and mould them into become the letting or estate agents of tomorrow.
"Promoting the value of apprenticeships in this way adds an extra dimension to our recruitment programme and if this pilot is successful, we will repeat it."
She added: "They will receive hands-on experience of either the sales or rental side of our business, hopefully with a qualification to their name at the end of it. And nothing would give us greater pleasure than to retain them, and their newly-developed skills, within Linley & Simpson."
The independent agency, which employs more than 130 people, has an expanding network of ten offices across Yorkshire.
It first launched as a dedicated letting agent 16 years ago and made the "natural progression" of extending its expertise into the sales market two months ago.
Apprenticeships are designed to open up a new range of career opportunities and college leavers aged under 23 without a degree.
Paula said that prior customer service or sales expertise would strengthen applicants' CVs as the search for the five successful apprentices gets underway.
Interested candidates are encouraged to make their application to recruitment@linleyand simpson.co.uk.