Lesson Two

In this week's lesson we learned about Hippocampi. These creatures are very common in the mythology of many different cultures from Greek to Etruscan lore. Their name is derived from the words hippos, meaning horse, and kampos, meaning sea monster. This is appropriate, as Hippocampi are literally horse sea monsters, with the upper torso of a horse and the lower body of a fish. They are known to live approximately 45 years, but some have been observed as living up to 83 years. Males are called Stalfish while females are called Marfish, derived from the names for land horse males and females, stallion and mare respectively. Size ranges from four to six feet with the diet consisting of plants, specifically sea ferns and seaweed. They will eat coral when they must, but prefer not to. The first Hippocampus was found in the Mediterranean, but they are now found around the world. This chart from class is the best summary of where to find the different types of Hippocampus along with a physical description.

Year/Era	Location	Species Color Horse Part/Fish Part	Average Size
Greek Empire	Greece and surrounding isles	Black/Green	6 feet
1492	Spain	Palomino/Orange	5.5 feet
1949	Scotland	Blue Roan/Blue	4 feet
1955	Florida, United States	Black/Black	5 feet
1961	California, United States	Gray/Silver	5 feet
1972	Japan	White/Silver	5.5 feet

Hippocampus lay 5-10 semi-transparent eggs, usually in March with breeding in May. These eggs hatch into Tadfoal which mature between July and September, evidenced by growing to half the size of a mature Hippocampus. At this time, the Hippocampus leaves to find a mate even if mating will not occur until they are a year old. Mating pairs will make nests that are unique to that pair only. Females take care of the eggs, never sitting on them but only hovering around them and watching over them. Hippocampi live in schools of usually around 30 pairs, but sometimes more, with the leader being called the Archon. Hippocampus do not do well in captivity because they need so much space to roam. It can be done, but is not done very often. They are tolerant of wizards studying them and will alert observers if they no longer want to be observed with a shake of the head or hooves. The Archon is the one who communicates with observers. Hippocampus have many unacknowledged relatives that the Greeks do recognize, including Capricorns, Leokampus, and Taurokampos. A recognized cousin of the Hippocampus is the Kelpie.

I find Hippocampi interesting because I have an affinity to horses on land. One of my degrees is in Equine Science and I have a horse. The Hippocampus is an interesting form of a horse that makes me like the water a little more than I did before. They are also interesting because of the many artistic representations there are of them, as evidenced below. I remember the first time I saw a Hippocampus in the wild. We were vacationing in California on the coast. I have always loved the ocean and loved snorkeling and swimming, even in the chilly waters of California. I was swimming about when I got caught by a tide. Knowing the proper protocol, I tried to swim parallel to the shore to break free so I could get to safety. Unfortunately, the tide had other ideas. It took me farther out to sea. Hoping that I could escape the current by swimming under it, I tried to do so. And almost ran smack into a curious young Hippocampus! The creature was sleek, with a dappled grey coat and long silver fish tail. My fascination was overcome by distress when I realized I was being swept farther out to sea. The Hippocampus seemed to sense my alarm and starting looking at me with worried eyes. He swam close to me and waved his mane. Taking my cue, I grabbed hold. The Hippocampus swam with powerful strokes until I was free of the current and close enough to swim to shore. I thanked him with a rub on the neck and a treat of some seaweed that was tangled around my leg.

That was the coolest experience I had ever had in the ocean.

All images used in these journals were not drawn by me but was found using a Muggle search engine and selected for their appropriateness with the entries.