Toledo Zoo, October 30, 'Toctober -- hippos

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The Toledo Zoo has a wonderful hippoquarium. I believe it was one of the first of its kind -- a large outdoor space where the hippos can run along the ground under water, just as they would in an African river.....

It is a must-see part of the zoo, and is something that, like the polar bears, we never miss.





CuteOverload celebrates 'Tocktober each year.

With the build-up so far, I am sure you recognize these 'tocks.......





Yep.





Unfortunately the hippos were inside. Maybe they are especially sensitive to cold and it was just too chilly for them. They had clearly been inside for some time.....

This guy was lying there, with his chin resting on the side of the enclosure. (His lady-love is on the other side; perhaps he's being as close as he can to her?)

I always think of carpal tunnel syndrome when I see someone's wrists cocked at this sort of angle -- what do they call it when you do this to your neck???





These 'tocks are much more commonly seen on CuteOverload.

Wild and free mallard ducks, taking advantage of the supreme habitat at the zoo.





Love the ripples/reflections. Did some color saturation, and then put a poster-edges filter on it.

Quack!





Reflection on the water in the otter exhibit. No sign of any otters.





Then a keeper walked by, rattling his keys. That was clearly a signal recognized by the otters.........





When the keeper walked away without doing anything interesting, they swam away, but when my DH rattled his keys, right back they came.





The bright day made for excellent reflections on water........

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