Response #436 (kline)

 I saw exotic wild life in South Africa that I know you want to know about,
 even if it isn't "still seen in the rockies."  First of all, there are
 PENGUINS in South Africa -- down near the Cape of Good Hope there's a colony
 on the mainland.  The African penguins are very cute, stand about half a meter
 tall, and look like the classic tuxedo guys that you see in cartoons.  They're
 pretty tolerant of having tourists come and gawk at them, so you can walk out
 on boardwalks on the beach up to within a few yards of them, all through a
 group of several hundred or 1,000 of them, including nesting moms & dads.  THe
 scene reminded me of Ano Nuevo on the California coast, except the penguins
 are much mellower than the elephant seals.  Highly endearing.  Penguins!  I 
 had no idea there was even such a thing as an African penguin.
 
 Up on the top of Table Mtn, overlooking Cape Town, we were buzzed at close
 range by something that looked like a giant prairie dog.  Turns out it was a
 rock dassie, or hydrax.  Despite its looking like a giant rodent, it turns out
 to be more closely to elephants and horses.  Has pads on the bottoms of its
 feet for rock climbing.

 I'm told that SA has some incredible scenery and wildlife.  Is the vibe 
 such that a traveler wouldn't feel too threatened moving around the 
 country?

 "hydrax" is also an excellent Scrabble word.

 Very cool, kline! Hydrax!

 It's "hyrax" (no "d"), scrabble players.  A hydrax is a cheap knock-off 
 of an oreo.

 Um, that would be "Hydrox."

 Hydrax is a a layer of hyrax meat between two chocolate cookies.

 I think they fed us that at college.

 Mmmmm, meat cookies.

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