And there'd be an immediate breeding program to increase the size of the animals, for a better yield...There's a novella about this from Sea Lion Press called Bearfish (I think?), among other things the hippos spread all through the south, the Seminoles maintain a stranglehold on most of Florida and hippos become a racist metaphor for black people and a communist metaphor for the proletariat. I really liked it.
As for the question at hand, would pygmy hippos be a better import? Yes there's less meat on the bones but they still eat hyacinths (I assume) and would be relatively easier to manage. Maybe a domestication program could eventually result in river pigs.
Make em fat and dumb just like turning aurochs into cows. I don't know how the pygmy hippo compares to OG hippos in terms of maturation rate, brood size, etc. though, I think it takes something like 35 generations on average for domestication.And there'd be an immediate breeding program to increase the size of the animals, for a better yield...
Make em fat and dumb just like turning aurochs into cows. I don't know how the pygmy hippo compares to OG hippos in terms of maturation rate, brood size, etc. though, I think it takes something like 35 generations on average for domestication.
IMO you need a very early POD for this to occur. Something that will let them get a firm foothold in the US, with a sustainable breeding population. I don't know if this really possible though, as even flintlocks can kill them.
A bit of a "2nd Amendment Paradise" in the making...I'm pretty sure that once the public realizes what a danger hippos are, the breeding population, sustainable or not, is going to be rapidly decreasing in size. We're talking "Unlimited hunting licenses" here, or if later in the timeline, Wild Life services getting 50 cal machine guns mounted on the front of their boats.
There are few native species capable of taking on a hippo, so they get displaced or destroyed quickly.
Hard to believe people were actually PAID during the Great Depression to plant kudzu...
The world needs dreamers...If you think about it it's sort of a bit of Keynesian genius. You pay people to introduce a incredibly destructive species and then have entire industries built around fighting that same invasive species.
Personally I've been thinking of taking the same concept and taking it up a few notches. Basically genetically engineer something along the lines of a Velociraptor with human level intelligence and a keen thirst for human flesh and with rabbit level reproductive capacity. Think of the positive economic benefits. Think of all the people who'd get jobs working the arms factories, or fortifying our cities to deal with the massive raptor hordes, or all of the creative types who'd gain employment coming up new and innovative hallmark sympathy card's like "I'm so sorry you're children were eaten in front of you. I'd come over to give you a hug but we haven't been able to leave the house in three weeks. Please send shotgun shells."
The world needs dreamers...
Don't be silly...I love your work!What? Do you have something against Keynesian economics?
Apparently Pablo Escobar had a few on his wildlife farm. They have escaped and there are now 30 to 50 of them happily wandering about Colombian rivers.
Doubt that the Cowboy sports of Hippo riding and Hippo bulldogging would ever catch on after the first adherents are turned into mush