Why Hippos Are Tasty (But Never Domesticated)

What the film says

1. In 1910, Robert Broussard proposed importing African animals to supply meat in the United States. 1:23

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2. The House Agriculture Committee discussed H.R. 23261 on March 24, 1910, with $250,000 proposed for animal imports. 2:11

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3. Supporters hoped hippos would eat invasive water hyacinth while providing meat. 0:17

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4. Water hyacinth reached New Orleans in 1884 and spread through local waterways. 0:51

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5. W. N. Irwin described hippo meat to the committee as tasting like a mixture of pork and beef. 2:43

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6. Period newspapers promoted hippo meat using the name lake cow bacon. 0:33

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7. Theodore Roosevelt reportedly endorsed the animal-importation plan. 4:23

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8. Duquesne's scouting report described the Louisiana swamps as dismal and forbidding. 4:38

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9. Hornaday's 1913 book condemned replacing depleted native wildlife with imported African animals. 5:46

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10. Common hippos mostly graze on land at night rather than feeding on aquatic plants. 8:22

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11. Common hippos chew mainly up and down, with interlocking incisors restricting sideways jaw movement. 8:42

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12. The 2023 chewing study used videos of two living common hippos alongside a larger museum-skull sample. 9:07

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13. Researchers describe long gut retention as compensation for hippos' limited food-particle reduction. 8:51

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14. Many cattle heifers reach puberty around 12 to 13 months, with breed, weight and nutrition affecting timing. 9:27

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15. Captive female hippos can conceive from about two years old, although most begin from about four. 9:34

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16. Hippo gestation lasts about eight months, while the mean interval between births is about two years. 9:45

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17. Male hippos defend territories in water, where hippos gather socially. 10:23

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18. GFAS sanctuary standards require protected contact rather than people entering occupied hippo enclosures. 10:58

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19. Positive reinforcement can help hippos cooperate with veterinary procedures. 11:08

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20. The common hippopotamus is classified as Vulnerable. 11:52

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21. The 2017 assessment estimated roughly 115,000 to 130,000 wild hippos across Africa. 11:55

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22. A stable range-wide population trend can coexist with regional hippo declines. 12:03

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23. Habitat loss and illegal or unregulated hunting for meat and ivory are major threats to hippos. 12:08

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24. International trade in common hippos is regulated through CITES Appendix II. 12:26

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25. In March 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that ESA listing of the common hippo may be warranted. 13:05

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26. The petitioners say their court-approved agreement sets July 27, 2028 as the deadline for a U.S. listing decision. 13:12

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27. Hippo products sold in the United States include leather goods, ivory carvings, teeth and hunting trophies. 12:17

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28. Rebecca Lewison emphasizes competition with agriculture for hippo habitat and freshwater. 13:33

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29. Broussard introduced H.R. 23261 on March 21, 1910, and it was referred to the Agriculture Committee. 1:55

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30. The bill's title did not mention hippos. 2:01

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31. Irwin presented his animal-importation paper at the American Breeders' Association meeting in January 1909. 1:35

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32. Broussard yielded the hearing to Irwin, Burnham and Duquesne rather than making a substantive opening statement. 2:16

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33. Irwin told the committee that handlers described hippos as easily tamed and attached to people. 2:26

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34. Irwin proposed enclosing five or six waterfront acres and bringing water hyacinth inside as feed. 2:33

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35. Irwin predicted that suitable animals could add a million tons of meat annually to America's supply. 2:50

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36. Irwin warned that loose hippos could travel 15 miles overnight and damage crops. 2:56

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37. Burnham argued that America was leaving useful animal resources idle. 3:17

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38. Duquesne introduced himself to the committee by comparing himself with an African animal. 3:28

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39. Duquesne asserted that hippos could be bottle-fed, led and handled without danger. 3:50

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40. Mooallem's archival reporting describes Burnham and Duquesne as wartime enemies who had sought each other's death. 3:38

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41. Duquesne was later convicted of espionage for Germany. 4:13

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42. Broussard, Burnham and Duquesne organized their campaign around a proposed New Food Supply Society. 4:29

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43. Burnham canceled a planned 1911 African scouting expedition when the Mexican revolution threatened his business interests.

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44. The hippo-importation scheme gradually faded while officials promoted cattle on reclaimed marshland. 4:49

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45. Broussard postponed reintroducing his bill and died in 1918. 5:27

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46. A 1914 Journal of Heredity article revived Irwin's proposal using the smaller pygmy hippopotamus. 5:52

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47. Ugandan wildlife managers conducted experimental hippo culling in 1958, using carcasses for food and studying vegetation effects. 6:17

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48. An 1890 account documents a captive hippo birth in New York at the beginning of December 1889. 6:32

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49. South Africa has hippo populations on managed game farms. 6:26

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50. Domestication involves inherited adaptation under human control rather than simply taming or keeping an individual animal. 6:58

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51. The Instituto Humboldt dates Colombia's first hippo record at Hacienda Nápoles to 1981. 7:33

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52. Reporter Joshua Hammer describes Escobar's hippos as four animals reportedly acquired from a U.S. zoo, refuge or breeder. 7:33

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53. Colombia's environment ministry reported an estimate of about 200 hippos in September 2026. 7:43

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54. Colombia's hippos form an introduced invasive population rather than a controlled domestic livestock lineage. 7:49

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55. Cattle pregnancy lasts roughly nine months, with 283 days common for many breeds. 9:45

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56. Cattle handlers use flight zones and herd-following behavior to move animals through working facilities. 10:09

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57. Hippo sanctuary facilities include secure enclosures and space to separate animals for care or social reasons. 10:42

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58. GFAS standards call for insulated indoor space that accommodates swimming and other natural behavior in cold climates. 10:48

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59. The petitioners' CITES analysis ranked the United States first with 34% of counted wild-source hippo-specimen imports in 2009–2018. 12:35

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60. The September 2024 complaint ranked the United States first with 45% of unweighted hippo-specimen imports in 2019–2021. 12:48

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61. The common hippopotamus was absent from the U.S. ESA wildlife list current through October 15, 2026. 13:11

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62. An endangered listing could prohibit hippo imports and interstate sales, subject to permits and exceptions. 13:20

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63. Hong Kong Customs reported seizing suspected hippo ivory during a 2023 anti-smuggling operation.

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