Africa vignette #6

[rsc]

Hippopotamus don't seem to vocalize a great deal (unlike, say, zebras, who it seems never shut up), but when they do, they emit deep, resonant bass grunts, rather like a badly-played bass clarinet or contrabassoon. Once in a while one will emit a series of such noises, a result that sounds remarkably like laughter. That's OK, guys, I can hardly look at you without laughing, too.