Hippos, a Mongoose and Me. Tales of rescue and survival in the wilds of Africa

Title: Hippos, a Mongoose and Me
Subtitle: Tales of rescue and survival in the wilds of Africa
Author: Karen Paolillo
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Imprint: Penguin Books
Cape Town, South Africa 2024
ISBN 9781779890016 / ISBN 978-1-77-989001-6
Softcover, 15 x 23 cm, 153 pages, several colour photographs

About: Hippos, a Mongoose and Me. Tales of rescue and survival in the wilds of Africa

Hippos, a Mongoose and Me is a collection of vivid stories reflecting the decades that Karen Paolillo has lived and worked in the wilds of southeast Zimbabwe. The tales encompass a wide variety of animals and experiences, including Karen’s extraordinary affinity with hippos, life with her beloved mongoose, characterful baboons and rescued birds, close encounters with lions and an injured buffalo, and her heart-stopping flight from an enraged elephant. To add to the drama, Karen Paolillo and her husband must face off against the drumbeat of political subterfuge and poaching of wildlife, sometimes at great personal risk. Inspiring, surprising and sometimes sad, this heartfelt anthology, Hippos, a Mongoose and Me, is testament to the courage and resilience of its intrepid author.

Karen Paolillo was born in the United Kingdom and raised by a mother who ran a small zoo at Woburn Abbey. Her father was a vet and she grew up with an assortment of domestic and exotic animals. Since her time in Zimbabwe founding the Turgwe Hippo Trust she has become known as the ‘hippo expert’, being called on by BBC Wildlife Magazine whenever they need a hippo question answered. She has also been featured in a National Geographic TV serial and has been featured on several TV shows including 50/50 in South Africa.

Content: Hippos, a Mongoose and Me. Tales of rescue and survival in the wilds of Africa

Acknowledgements
Prologue
Maladies and miracles
How it began
Kuchek hippo
Understanding hippos
Life in the bush
Rescued animals
The arrival of a mongoose
Baboons
Adventures in the bush
Success stories
Birth of a hippo
Lions and wild dogs
Little things can kill you
An earthquake and a meteor
Elephant mishap
Steve hippo
People pressure
Wounds and self healing
Squiggle
Tembia hippo
Animals in my life