Pennsylvania-1969: Hippopotamus Yawning Wide in a Zoo Pool Beside a Grassy Bank

Catalog date: estimated · Catalog location: estimated. Review source evidence · Request a source quality check

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1969
Decade1960s
LocationPennsylvania, United States
Duration3s
Price$149 USD
Collection1969 · Pennsylvania, United States
StatusStockfilm Exclusive

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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From the same film reel

1960–1969 · New Jersey & Pennsylvania · Reel 449c7376 contains 18 published Stockfilm-exclusive clips. Watch them in reel order and review the available reel documentation.

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Same year and place1969 · Pennsylvania, United StatesExplore footage →Across the archiveFilmed in 1969Explore the year →Across the yearsPennsylvania, United StatesExplore the place →

What is in this clip

zoo visit
animal behaviour
family outing
wildlife in captivity
leisure
home movies

Shot type: medium
Camera: handheld · static · high angle looking down from the bank
Setting: outdoor · zoo pool enclosure with concrete curb and grassy bank
Time and weather: day · summer · sunny
Lighting: dappled sunlight through trees with reflected sky on the water
People: 0 · No people are visible.
Animals: hippopotamus · sparrow · dark bird
Objects: concrete curb · pool water · grass · floating leaves
Colors: blue-violet · dark green · grey · tan
Master dimensions: 3840 × 2160
Audio: Silent
Date confidence: Low
Location confidence: Low

Moments in the footage

Select a time to watch that moment in the preview.

The hippopotamus holds its jaws wide open beside the curb.
It begins to close its mouth while a sparrow stays on the curb.
The head lowers toward the water surface.
Only the snout and eyes remain above the rippling water.

Hippopotamus Yawning Wide in a Zoo Pool Beside a Grassy Bank — Clip Details

Probably Pennsylvania, circa 1969 home movie footage of a hippopotamus in a zoo pool. The animal rises beside a concrete curb with its mouth stretched wide, showing pink gums and teeth, then closes its jaws and settles low in the dark water. A dark bird stands on the grassy bank at left while a small sparrow perches on the curb. The single handheld 8mm shot looks down from the bank in dappled sunlight, with sky reflected on the water.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 3s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 800002113

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel record not linked for this clip
Date: 1969 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: Pennsylvania, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Serves requests for late-1960s American zoo footage, giving documentary, education and nostalgia productions a short animal-behaviour moment shot on amateur film.
Period detail: The plain concrete-edged pool and colour rendition of the 8mm stock may show a mid-century zoo design, though nothing in the frame dates it precisely.
Home-movie behavior: A family visitor leans over the rail and films the hippo at the instant it yawns, catching the unplanned moment a day-trip audience hopes to see.
What appears in frame: A hippopotamus with its mouth wide open, a concrete pool curb running diagonally, a grassy bank in dappled shade, a dark bird at left, a sparrow on the curb and sky reflected on the water.
Film character: Cool blue-violet water tones, visible grain, mild softness and slight handheld drift give the shot the honest texture of projected 8mm home-movie film.
Edit role: Works as a quick cutaway or memory beat within a zoo sequence, or as a light transition between family scenes.
Historical context: Zoo trips were a common feature of family home movies of the era, and visitors often filmed animals from close vantage points beside open pools.
Research note: No people, logos or readable signs appear, but the zoo is unidentified, so any claim about the institution or its grounds should be avoided; film copyright is separate from any property considerations.
Research search match: Researchers might search for vintage hippo yawning footage, 1960s zoo home movie, 8mm zoo animals or a hippopotamus in a zoo pool archival clip.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with this reel's other zoo shots and family clips such as the boy holding a toddler's hand, then with Pennsylvania road-trip footage from the same years, then with other vintage zoo animal scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

Hippopotamus yawning in a zoo pool, probably Pennsylvania, circa 1969, with a dark bird on the grassy bank — A hippopotamus opens its jaws wide beside the curb of its zoo pool, circa 1969.
License this still · $49

Raised head of a hippo mid-yawn in a sunlit zoo pool, 8mm home movie, circa 1969, likely Pennsylvania — Mid-yawn, the hippo's pink mouth and teeth catch the light as a sparrow waits on the curb.
License this still · $49

Hippopotamus closing its jaws after a yawn in a zoo pool, circa 1969 home movie, probably Pennsylvania — The hippopotamus begins to close its mouth and lower its head toward the water.
License this still · $49

Hippo settling low in rippled zoo pool water, 8mm film circa 1969, probably in Pennsylvania — Only the snout and eyes of the hippo remain above the ripples at the end of the shot.
License this still · $49

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