Question about hippos

Not so. The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble mosquito.

I wonder if I should offer "mosquito safaris" :-)
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:18:16 GMT, Iceman wrote:

I was wondering, do people go on special tours to see hippos? I would
think they would not be allowed, because I heard that hippos have been
known to bite both people and boats into two. Thank you for your
insight!

I've heard that hippos kill more safari tourists than any other
animal.

Not so. The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble mosquito.

I wonder if I should offer "mosquito safaris" :-)
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:18:16 GMT, Iceman wrote:

I was wondering, do people go on special tours to see hippos? I would
think they would not be allowed, because I heard that hippos have been
known to bite both people and boats into two. Thank you for your
insight!

I've heard that hippos kill more safari tourists than any other
animal.

Marc Lurie wrote:

Not so. The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble mosquito.

I wonder if I should offer "mosquito safaris" :-)
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:18:16 GMT, Iceman wrote:

I was wondering, do people go on special tours to see hippos? I would
think they would not be allowed, because I heard that hippos have been
known to bite both people and boats into two. Thank you for your
insight!

I've heard that hippos kill more safari tourists than any other
animal.

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.


--
Johan W. Elzenga johanatjohanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Marc Lurie wrote:

Not so. The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble mosquito.

I wonder if I should offer "mosquito safaris" :-)
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:18:16 GMT, Iceman wrote:

I was wondering, do people go on special tours to see hippos? I would
think they would not be allowed, because I heard that hippos have been
known to bite both people and boats into two. Thank you for your
insight!

I've heard that hippos kill more safari tourists than any other
animal.

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.


--
Johan W. Elzenga johanatjohanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message
...
Marc Lurie wrote:

Not so. The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble mosquito.

I wonder if I should offer "mosquito safaris" :-)
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:18:16 GMT, Iceman wrote:

I was wondering, do people go on special tours to see hippos? I would
think they would not be allowed, because I heard that hippos have been
known to bite both people and boats into two. Thank you for your
insight!

I've heard that hippos kill more safari tourists than any other
animal.

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.

Interesting angle...Mosquitoes don't kill people, parasites do. Something
for the pro-mosquito lobby.

--riverman

(You can have my mosquito when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!)
:-)

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message
...
Marc Lurie wrote:

Not so. The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble mosquito.

I wonder if I should offer "mosquito safaris" :-)
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:18:16 GMT, Iceman wrote:

I was wondering, do people go on special tours to see hippos? I would
think they would not be allowed, because I heard that hippos have been
known to bite both people and boats into two. Thank you for your
insight!

I've heard that hippos kill more safari tourists than any other
animal.

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.

Interesting angle...Mosquitoes don't kill people, parasites do. Something
for the pro-mosquito lobby.

--riverman

(You can have my mosquito when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands!)
:-)

Following this reasoning, the anti-gun lobby actually have it all
wrong... They should be anti-bullet, not anti-gun. ;-)

Marc
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:01:02 +0100, lid (Johan W.
Elzenga) wrote:

Marc Lurie wrote:

Not so. The most dangerous animal in Africa is the humble mosquito.

I wonder if I should offer "mosquito safaris" :-)
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:18:16 GMT, Iceman wrote:

I was wondering, do people go on special tours to see hippos? I would
think they would not be allowed, because I heard that hippos have been
known to bite both people and boats into two. Thank you for your
insight!

I've heard that hippos kill more safari tourists than any other
animal.

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.

Marc Lurie wrote:

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:01:02 +0100, lid (Johan W.
Elzenga) wrote:

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.

Following this reasoning, the anti-gun lobby actually have it all
wrong... They should be anti-bullet, not anti-gun. ;-)

Exactly right! ;-) Guns without bullets do not kill anyone, except
perhaps if you hit people on the head with them. Mosquitoes without
malaria parasites do not harm anyone either, except for a small
irritating bite perhaps.

On a more serious note: for years people have tried to eradicate
mosquitoes because of malaria, or tsetse flies because of sleeping
sickness. They used chemicals like DDT, causing enormous harm to the
environment. The proper way to fight malaria would be to fight the
parasite (as is being done now) rather than the insect that carries it.

--
Johan W. Elzenga johanatjohanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Marc Lurie wrote:

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:01:02 +0100, lid (Johan W.
Elzenga) wrote:

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.

Following this reasoning, the anti-gun lobby actually have it all
wrong... They should be anti-bullet, not anti-gun. ;-)

Exactly right! ;-) Guns without bullets do not kill anyone, except
perhaps if you hit people on the head with them. Mosquitoes without
malaria parasites do not harm anyone either, except for a small
irritating bite perhaps.

On a more serious note: for years people have tried to eradicate
mosquitoes because of malaria, or tsetse flies because of sleeping
sickness. They used chemicals like DDT, causing enormous harm to the
environment. The proper way to fight malaria would be to fight the
parasite (as is being done now) rather than the insect that carries it.

--
Johan W. Elzenga johanatjohanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

"Johan W. Elzenga" wrote in message
.. .
Marc Lurie wrote:

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:01:02 +0100, lid (Johan W.
Elzenga) wrote:

Hippo's kill quite a few people, but tourists are seldom among them. And
mosquitos do not kill anybody. They only carry the malaria parasite that
is the real killer.

Following this reasoning, the anti-gun lobby actually have it all
wrong... They should be anti-bullet, not anti-gun. ;-)

Exactly right! ;-) Guns without bullets do not kill anyone, except
perhaps if you hit people on the head with them. Mosquitoes without
malaria parasites do not harm anyone either, except for a small
irritating bite perhaps.

On a more serious note: for years people have tried to eradicate
mosquitoes because of malaria, or tsetse flies because of sleeping
sickness. They used chemicals like DDT, causing enormous harm to the
environment. The proper way to fight malaria would be to fight the
parasite (as is being done now) rather than the insect that carries it.


In a perfect world, yes. But the parasite is a seriously difficult guy to
target, and has avoided a lot of efforts to eradicate it. Meanwhile, DDT did
prove to be a very effective weapon in the battle against malaria, and a lot
(a LOT) more people have died from the effects of Malaria than from any
effects, direct or indirect, of DDT usage.

Not saying that we should use it at the levels we did back in the 60s and
70s, but we still export millions of gallons each year to countries that use
it to control malaria, and a lot of people are still alive because of that.
If anopholes mozzies in the US picked up the vector, we'd almost certainly
start using it at home again. The reason we don't use it in places like
Congo is because the region is just too vast to spray.

--riverman