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Saturday, September 3, 2011

No, your ex-girlfriend is NOT the land mammal with the biggest mouth. It's The COMMON HIPPOPOTAMUS (Hippopotamus amphibius). I show you WWF maxicards from CONGO DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (ex-Zaire)


"The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος), is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other is the Pygmy Hippopotamus.) After the elephant, the hippotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl, despite being considerably shorter than the giraffe.

The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting riverslakes and West African mangroveswamps [3] where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river [MY NOTE: that's a stretch] and groups of 5 to 30 females [MY NOTE: that's EVEN MORE of a stretch, but hey!...] and young."

"Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whalesporpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about55 million years ago.[4] The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around 60 million years ago".

"Even though they are bulky animals, hippopotamuses can run faster than a human on land. Estimates of their running speed vary from 30 km/h (18 mph) to 40 km/h (25 mph), or even 50 km/h (30 mph). The hippo can maintain these higher speeds for only a few hundred meters."


Democratic Republic of the Congo
République Démocratique du Congo
FlagCoat of Arms
MottoJustice – Paix – Travail  
(French: Justice – Peace – Work)
Anthem"Debout Congolais"  
(French:"Arise, Congolese")
Capital
(and largest city)
Kinshasa
4°19′S 15°19′E
Official language(s)French
Recognised national languagesLingalaKikongo,SwahiliTshiluba
DemonymCongolese
GovernmentSemi-presidentialrepublic
 - PresidentJoseph Kabila
 - Prime MinisterAdolphe Muzito
Independence
 - from Belgium30 June 1960 

"The Democratic Republic of the Congo (FrenchRépublique démocratique du Congo) is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of nearly 71 million,[1] the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the eighteenth most populous nation in the world, and the fourth most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous officially Francophone country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is often referred to as Congo. However, in order to distinguish it from the neighbouring Republic of the Congo to the west, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is sometimes referred to as DR CongoDRC, or RDC (from its French abbreviation), or is called Congo-Kinshasa after the capital of Kinshasa (in contrast to Congo-Brazzaville for its neighbour). It also borders the Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north; UgandaRwanda, and Burundi in the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; the Atlantic Ocean to the west; and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika in the east.[1]The country has access to the ocean through a 40-kilometre (25 mi) stretch of Atlantic coastline at Muanda and the roughly 9 km wide mouth of the Congo River which opens into the Gulf of Guinea."

"In Zaire, in Zaire..." :)

Can you see some PINK in the set of maxicards above?
Gum tissue? Writing on a stamp?
===========
Happy Pink Saturday! (still open on Sunday!)

Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:

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