A happy hippo steals a pool.

From the BBC  and it is great to do a good news  blog after  my last blog about hippos

Bid to free South Africa swimming pool hippopotamus

A team of experts is to attempt to rescue a hippopotamus which has taken over a swimming pool at a game reserve lodge in South Africa.

The hippo took to the pool on Tuesday at the Monate Conservation Lodge, north of Johannesburg.

The swimming pool will be drained and the hippo sedated before it is lifted out by crane.

Earlier, residents of Cape Town were also warned about a stray hippo, after one was sighted in gardens and roads.

Relaxed

The swimming pool hippo is stuck there because the pool is 8ft (2.4m) deep and has no steps.

Lodge manager Ruby Ferreira told the Associated Press: "There's no way he can come out."

The water has to be drained, otherwise the hippo would drown when it was sedated.

It is hoped the rescue will take place on Friday.

South Africa's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told AP the four-year-old hippo was forced from its pod by dominant males.

The hippo appears relaxed, Ms Ferreira said, and will be taken to another animal sanctuary.

'Dangerous'

Meanwhile, residents of Cape Town were warned about a stray two-year-old calf that had been spotted in Zeekoevlei, a district south-east of the city centre, after it too was separated from its pod.

Wildlife officials are hoping to guide it back to its home pod.

If that failed they would consider capturing or darting the animal, they said.

"The public is advised to be particularly cautious, as hippos are known to be extremely dangerous wild animals," the city said in a statement, warning people not to approach or stop the animal.

"This could lead to dangerous encounters and may potentially prolong the capture operation by influencing the animal's behaviour."

For the record.

" The hippo is responsible for more human fatalities in Africa than any other large animal. Male hippos actively defend their territories which run along the banks of rivers and lakes. Females have also been known to get extremely aggressive if they sense anyone coming in between their babies, who stay in the water while she feeds on the shore. Hippos can run at speeds of over 20 miles an hour and they have enormous jaws which host up to 20 inch canines."