A hippo charges a boat on the Chobe River in Botswana. (From thisvideo.)
Hippo Facts:
Hippos can run up to 19 mph on land, and swim up to 5 mph. For reference, the fastest man alive has a maximum speed of ~28 mph and Olympic-level swimmers move at a maximum speed of 4.5 mph.
Hippos kill thousands of people every year. Like almost 3000 in Africa alone.
Hippos are very aggressive, and sometimes charge or attack for no apparent reason.
Hippos have been identified as a vulnerable species by the World Conservation Union, with an estimated population of only 125,000-150,000 in the wild.
Just in case you don’t know the man behind thissong (and I guarantee you know the song): Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo'ole, or Bruddah Iz, was a phenomenal Hawaiian musician and activist. He spent his life making music and promoting the ideas of Hawaiian independence and the negative impacts of the tourism industry on native Hawaiian people.
(This is my favorite video of Iz, talking about his life and singing a song from Facing Future called “White Sandy Beach.” It’s beautiful. He was beautiful.)
Iz died on June 26, 1997 and is survived by his widow, Marlene, and their daughter Ceslie-Ann “Wehi.” His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Mākua Beach on July 12, 1997, while thousands of fans celebrated his life. The gifs above are from video taken at the funeral and used for the What a Wonderful World video.
Starr Andrews, skating to “Whip My Hair,” by Willow Smith. Starr was 9 years old when she performed this (video here). She’s 13 now, and though she had to slow down her training when her mom had 11 heart attacks in 4 years she’s still competing and doing fantastically well.
Three Dorobo Hunters from Kenya Take Meat from 15 Hungry Lions.
Tumblr, meet the three bravest men in the world.
P.S. The leader is 65 years old. His name is Rakita (though I can’t find the names of the other two hunters with him.) Here is a short post about this hunt, and the struggles of the Dorobo people to maintain their traditional way of life. The saddest line:
“And so in our lifetime, we will see an end to this ancient lifestyle of hunting, gathering and scavenging. An accumulative knowledge that has been passed down over 1000s of years."
(gif source video…but for the love of god, don’t read the comments)