hippo and hammerkop | pen & ink

This pen-and-ink artwork captures the quiet interaction between hippos and a hammerkop at the water’s edge — a relationship built on tolerance and opportunity. Hippos spend their days submerged, resting in the shallows to keep cool and conserve energy. Despite their size and territorial nature, they often allow birds to perch on their backs. For the hammerkop, this is a perfect vantage point. From the hippo’s broad, stable surface, the hammerkop can scan the water for insects, frogs, and small fish. The hippo’s movements stir up the shallows, flushing prey into the open, while the bird remains safely above the water — out of reach of any threat and with a clear view of everything happening around it. This simple moment highlights how animals share space in the bush: a massive herbivore and a watchful wetland bird, each going about its life while quietly benefiting from the presence of the other.