Vwegba Blogging World

Belle the hippo during the siege of Leningrad, 1943. Of all the horrors of war, a destitute hippo is one of the last sights you would expect to see. Belle the hippo survived the Siege of Leningrad thanks to her caretaker, Yevdokia Dashina.⁠ ⁠ In 1941, water was turned off throughout the city and Belle’s pool was empty, so her skin began to dry out. Every day, Dashina would drag a 40-liter barrel of water from the Neva River and rub the hippo with camphor oil. Eventually, Belle’s skin healed and she was able to hide underwater through the air raids.⁠ “Belle survived the war thanks to her caretaker, Yevdokia Dashina. In 1941 water was turned off throughout the city and Belle’s pool was empty, so her skin began to dry out and crack. Every day, Dashina would drag a 40-liter barrel of water from the Neva river and rub the suffering hippo with camphor oil. Eventually, Belle’s skin healed and she was able to hide underwater through the air raids.” (Source) *In this case, none of the zoo anima...