Always Take the Weather Vane With You

We recently found JT wrote at LiveJournal about a specific weathervane being something of an inspiration.

"I think this influenced me at an early age. ... My weathervane is whales, thanks to my brothers. It doesn’t snurfle."

JT's weather vane is therefore unlike the strange snarfling hippopotamus weather vane atop Prospero's house.  If JT has whales then all possible animals are possible, besides birds and fishes and (ahem) reindeer.  Still, has anyone attempted a hippopotamus of their own?