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Pictured: Puppet gets little pygmy hippo to eat again. (schmaltzy but sweet)
DailyMail.uk ^
| 17th November 2008
| Daily Mail Reporter
Posted on 11/17/2008 12:03:06 PM PST by yankeedame
Chico the hungry pygmy hippo gets a helping hand (puppet) to rediscover his appetite
A pygmy hippo which started turning up his snout at food has been given a helping hand to start eating again. Chico worried keepers at his home in Heythrop Zoological Gardens when he began to refuse food.
Chico chomps happily on his favourite carrot sticks fed to him
by Gloria
But the little animal was lured back to his trough under the watchful eye of Gloria, a hand puppet...
Chico was refusing to eat until
he met his new puppet playmate
Zoo keepers... said they had been 'trying everything' to tempt the fussy eater back to his meals when they stumbled across the hippo glove puppet in a supermarket....
Now keepers don the puppet to hand feed the diminutive hippo...despite his portly appearance, Chico had stopped feeding and was in danger of losing weight.
...Head keeper, Michael Howes, was desperate to find a way to encourage the animal start eating...As a last resort he decided to use the toy to try to lure Chico to tuck back in.
'We had been trying everything...I thought I'd give it a try,' Mr Howes said. 'We were extremely surprised when he took a liking to... and...have been using it to feed him ever since.'
Now Chico loves supper time
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
TOPICS: Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: hippo
You know, there's a possible children's book in this somewhere.
To: yankeedame
2
posted on
11/17/2008 12:04:13 PM PST
by
retrokitten
(Spirit of '76)
To: yankeedame
I wonder what kind of voice they gave the puppet.
3
posted on
11/17/2008 12:05:10 PM PST
by
wastedyears
(Every FReeper is on Obama's Black List. He will try to have us all "taken care of." Mark my words)
To: yankeedame
The headline made me believe for a moment that they fed a hippo to a puppet.
4
posted on
11/17/2008 12:05:40 PM PST
by
SolidWood
(Sarah Palin - Everything that is Sweetness and Light! WE STAND WITH HER!)
To: yankeedame; Chieftain
This reminds me of how we were fed the Bailout!!!!ha.
5
posted on
11/17/2008 12:08:09 PM PST
by
Recovering Ex-hippie
(Obozo.....friend of dictators and wannabee revoluuuushionaries !)
To: SolidWood
LOL, I thought the same thing. I was like, “OH NO!”
6
posted on
11/17/2008 12:08:16 PM PST
by
mancini
To: SolidWood
>The headline made me believe for a moment that they fed a hippo to a puppet.
LOL
Puppet: Yay! Pygmy hippo for dinner again; these guys taste great!
7
posted on
11/17/2008 12:09:14 PM PST
by
OneWingedShark
(Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
To: mancini
8
posted on
11/17/2008 12:09:30 PM PST
by
Larry Lucido
(Free Brightside!)
To: retrokitten
9
posted on
11/17/2008 12:22:51 PM PST
by
wolfcreek
(I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
To: yankeedame
Nice to know Ms. O’Donnell is feeling better.
10
posted on
11/17/2008 12:27:15 PM PST
by
domenad
(In all things, in all ways, at all times, let honor guide me.)
To: yankeedame
Or maybe it's just coincidence that the hippo decided to start eating again at the same time they started using the puppet.
11
posted on
11/17/2008 12:30:44 PM PST
by
The_Victor
(If all I want is a warm feeling, I should just wet my pants.)
To: wastedyears
I wonder what kind of voice they gave the puppet.Equal parts Vincent Price, Jack Palance and Hannibal Lector.
12
posted on
11/17/2008 12:31:54 PM PST
by
Petronski
(For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden. -- Cdl. Stafford)
To: yankeedame
Years ago I saw a story about California condors. They were using a puppet to feed a baby condor. I've seen something similar for baby monkeys.
13
posted on
11/17/2008 12:54:47 PM PST
by
Daaave
("....the flesh eating jinn of Komari.")
To: yankeedame
What a sweet story....I think baby hippos are soooooo cute !!!!
14
posted on
11/17/2008 1:12:27 PM PST
by
Kimmers
To: yankeedame
15
posted on
11/17/2008 1:57:30 PM PST
by
radiohead
(Buy ammo, get your kids out of government schools, pray for the Republic.)
To: yankeedame
This is very cool.
Thanks for posting.
16
posted on
11/17/2008 2:00:10 PM PST
by
Skooz
(Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us)
To: yankeedame
man did I miss read this headline... I thought they were feeding puppy's to a hippo
17
posted on
11/17/2008 2:09:39 PM PST
by
tophat9000
( Note: To Obama's Thugocracys... We are all " joe the plumber "...)
To: yankeedame
This reminds me of feeding small children — “Here comes the airplane, open the hangar!”
18
posted on
11/18/2008 2:18:58 PM PST
by
TexasRepublic
(Comrade, can you spare a slice of bread?)
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