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Feldhake’s "Wild" Hobby

What mammal is considered a cousin to the whale, weighs an average of 4,000 to 6,000 pounds and can run nearly 20 miles an hour? Just ask Glenn's own hippopotamus expert Glenn Feldhake.

Image right: Feldhake working with Happy the Hippo at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Park. Credit: Susan Stone

Feldhake, an electrical engineer based at Glenn who supports the Office of Spectrum Management at Headquarters, has spent the past nine years compiling data on the little-known hippo. What began as a weekend pastime volunteering as a keeper's aide at Smithsonian's National Zoological Park in Washington, DC, has developed into a passion.

Earlier this year, Feldhake published a 60-page book, appropriately titled, "Hippos." It features everything you ever wanted to know about hippos as well as photos taken by Feldhake and his wife, Susan, in zoos and in the wild. Feldhake also consulted on an in-depth program on hippos that aired recently on National Geographic.

As a senior spectrum engineer for NASA activities in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Feldhake travels extensively. He is responsible for reviewing U.S. policy and international agreements related to ensuring transmissions from NASA spacecraft operate without interference to or from other countries' communications satellites and ground stations. The ITU is an organization within the United Nations whose 180+ member countries coordinate global telecommunication networks and services utilized by their government and the private sector.

"I look forward to my annual trip to Africa, where I'm now doing hippo work with safari guides and wildlife managers," Feldhake said. "My association with the Smithsonian and the World Conservation Union has enabled me to meet with top hippo researchers and get behind-the-scenes tours of new, multi-million dollar hippo exhibits in zoos around the world."

Feldhake loves sharing his passion for hippos. To learn more about hippos and Feldhake's conservation activities on behalf of hippos, visit www.hippobook.com

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S. Jenise Veris
NASA's Glenn Research Center