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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A Rare Find For Rosemary


My blogging friend Rosemary of Where Five Valleys Meet says in her May 30th posting that her favorite animal is the Pygmy Hippopotamus. And that reminded me that I just happened to have one in my gift drawer. It's embedded in a piece of amber found in Greece. How the hippopotamus migrated to Greece I don't know, but there's still so much that we're learning!
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12 comments:

  1. Jane and Lance HattattMay 30, 2012 at 1:42 PM

    Hello Mark:
    And, how the Pygmy Hippopotamus became embedded in the amber is an even bigger mystery to us!!!

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    1. Mark D. RuffnerMay 30, 2012 at 2:12 PM

      Hello, Jane and Lance:

      It is most peculiar, isn't it? But after all, this Pygmy Hippopotamus isn't much bigger than some lizards that have been found in amber.

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  2. RosemaryMay 30, 2012 at 2:45 PM

    Gosh Mark, that is extraordinary.
    Such a fine specimen should be in the Smithsonian Institute not lying dormant in your gift drawer. He looks a very happy hippo embedded in amber, and I love him.
    You know the song - Mud, mud, glorious mud. Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. So follow me follow, down to the hollow. And there let me wallow in glorious mud.
    May be this gorgeous hippo mistakenly took an amber wallow instead of a mud wallow!

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    1. Mark D. RuffnerMay 30, 2012 at 4:26 PM

      Rosemary, you're right that this fellow shouldn't be languishing in the bottom of a dark drawer. And by virtual magic he is transported to you, and all the better for it. Thanks for the song — I'll remember it in the heat of this August.

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    2. RosemaryMay 30, 2012 at 5:17 PM

      Thank you so much Mark - does that mean I can really grab him and keep him forever?

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    3. Mark D. RuffnerMay 30, 2012 at 11:10 PM

      Absolutely.

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    4. RosemaryMay 31, 2012 at 4:38 AM

      Dear Mark - just to let you know that your rare find has arrived in a safely and in perfect condition. He will be making his appearance on the 30th May post.
      You might be interested to know that there are also two gorgeous pygmy hippos living in Bristol Zoo near where I live.

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    5. Mark D. RuffnerMay 31, 2012 at 9:20 AM

      Thanks, Rosemary - I have just visited the Bristol Zoo site and read up on Nato and Sirana . . .

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  3. GinaMay 30, 2012 at 2:49 PM

    Dear Mark, What a treasue you have! And Rosemary will be so pleased. I was born by the Baltic Sea where lots of amber is found amongst the sandy dunes. Your Pigmy Hippopotamus was probably foraging under a tree when a very large drop of liquid tree sap (amber) enclosed the little fellow.

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    1. Mark D. RuffnerMay 30, 2012 at 4:30 PM

      Dear Gina,

      I'm sure that's exactly what transpired. And because he is so very small, that drop of amber (which was very big) enclosed him in the snap of a finger, and he never knew what happened!

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  4. ParnassusMay 30, 2012 at 4:21 PM

    Hi Mark, I'm not sure that I get the joke here, but thanks for the introduction to Rosemary's blog. So many interesting articles and remarkable photographs.
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. Mark D. RuffnerMay 30, 2012 at 4:46 PM

      Hello, Parnassus - There's no joke here beyond my fertile imagination wishing that I could capture big things and fit them into my curiosity cabinet.

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