Our main focus is the hippo population in Anaheim, CA, the city with the highest reports of hippo abuse west of the Mississippi. On July 17th, 1955, a popular attraction called the Jungle Cruise opened to great acclaim. People flocked from all over the world to see wild animals in a jungle safari-like experience. This ride took passengers through the habitats of wild lions, native jungle-dwelling
tribes, rhinoceroses, tigers, cobras, and of course, hippopotamuses. In the 50+ years the attraction has been in operation the public has been witness to a seemingly "humorous" element within the ride. Upon entering the hippo pool the Jungle Cruise Skipper manipulates his passengers into a state of fear to justify shooting the innocent hippos with their Smith and Wesson .38 specials. After decades of violence we decided it was time to take action. In the year 2000 the AAHCS was founded by Caitlin Wahlstrom and Jeremy Kohrs. Our goal at the very beginning was to have the guns removed from the ride permanently. We were successful in our mission in 2002 when Disney removed the guns from the Jungle Cruise attractions in all their parks. However, the success of our campaign was short lived when in the Fall of 2004, the guns were incorporated back into the ride. In the past few years our attempts at freeing these beautiful robots have been persistent yet unfortunately unsuccessful. Our attempts to raise awareness have been met with ridicule and disregarded as a prank. Despite these setbacks, our fervor has not wavered. However, we ask now, after several years of working alone, for you to join us once more in our endeavor.
