mvuu

Pronounced ummmvu not moovu, I have been the cause of much mirth among friends who have been laughing at my pronunciation. Mvuu means hippopotamus, which is Greek word for water horse. They cause the most human deaths by wild animals in Africa. They spend the day in the water because their skin is so sensitive to the sun, but only the babies can swim, the adults walk along the bottom of the river and come up for air every eight minutes. We watched them pop up for air and they make a snort as they empty the water out and unfurl their ears. At night they leave the water and graze, it is when they are moving between land and water that they are dangerous. When we stayed at Mvuu camp we heard the hippos moving about the camp and being chased back into the water by the guards. Our eldest was delighted by the slosh slosh noise the hippos make when they walk, this is the water in their tummies!