Hippos in Major American Zoos

snowleopard

snowleopard

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The book that I cowrote, titled America’s Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums, contains reviews and photos of 80 zoos and 20 aquariums. There are 22 out of the 80 zoos that currently display common hippos, which isn’t that surprising as the species costs a small fortune to maintain in captivity. (Also, Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey has an all-indoor exhibit for common hippos)

Two major criticisms of common hippo exhibits can be leveled at American zoos. First of all, the recommendation of maintaining a herd of hippos (3 or more) has largely been ignored entirely. That’s in stark contrast to many European zoos, where larger groups of hippos are sometimes in mixed species exhibits with a variety of antelope. Secondly, the amount of grazing space given to hippos in American zoos is almost nonexistent in some cases. Again, European zoos are ahead here, with some zoos across the Atlantic giving hippos far more land space. That being said, each zoo that has underwater viewing of hippos offers visitors a spectacular experience.

The 22 zoos that have common hippos:

ABQ BioPark
Busch Gardens**
Cheyenne Mountain
Cincinnati**
Dallas**
Denver
Disney’s Animal Kingdom**
Fort Worth**
Honolulu**
Kansas City
Los Angeles
Memphis**
Milwaukee County**
Philadelphia
Saint Louis**
San Antonio**
San Diego**
San Francisco
Sedgwick County**
Toledo**
Topeka
Woodland Park (although they are likely to phase hippos out in the near future)

** these 13 common hippo exhibits have underwater viewing

A list of what are arguably the Top 10 common hippo exhibits in the USA (alphabetical ranking):

Busch Gardens
Cheyenne Mountain
Dallas
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Memphis
Milwaukee County
Saint Louis
San Antonio
San Diego
Toledo

The 12 zoos that have pygmy hippos:

Gladys Porter
Houston
Lincoln Park
Louisville
Montgomery
Omaha
Pittsburgh
San Diego
Tampa
Tanganyika
Wildlife World
Miami

John Ball Zoo just announced plans for a pygmy hippo/sitatunga/European white stork complex that is due to open in 2023.

Tulsa Zoo is also adding pygmy hippos to its collection in the next couple of years. They will be located in the new African Wilds section of the zoo in a mixed-species habitat with diana monkeys.

Only one zoo in the book (San Diego) has BOTH common hippo and pygmy hippo, although Gulf Breeze Zoo in Florida can also lay claim to that fact in North America.
 
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I am really surprised to see that there only a dozen collections with pygmy hippo. I thought they were way more plentiful then that. Interestingly, ten years ago Brookfield also had both common and pygmy hippos and now they have neither.

I might be adding fuel to the firey debate going down on the hot takes thread, but I personally prefer common hippos over their dwarf relatives. They are so impressive and while I enjoy pygmy hippos as well, something about seeing a massive nile hippo is pretty awe-inspiring. Unfortunately many zoos in the US have failed to create a great hippo exhibit. Cincinnati, Fort Worth, Dallas and Milwaukee all have opened exhibits in recent years that are way too small and can barely accommodate more than two or maybe three animals, all for a focus on underwater viewing. I love underwater viewing and I think it can make the animals look way more impressive, but I don't want it at the expense of the hippos welfare. Cheyenne Mountain's new exhibit looks excellent and is one of the few exhibits that can actually hold a decent sized breeding herd. The newer exhibit at Memphis also looks pretty nice and that exhibit has underwater viewing as well as a decent sized land area. Those two are definitely the best of the hippo exhibits that have opened in the past five years.

Are there any other common hippo exhibits planned for the future? Fresno? Los Angeles?
 
pachyderm pro said:
I am really surprised to see that there only a dozen collections with pygmy hippo. I thought they were way more plentiful then that. Interestingly, ten years ago Brookfield also had both common and pygmy hippos and now they have neither.

Are there any other common hippo exhibits planned for the future? Fresno? Los Angeles?
Click to expand...

Don't forget that this thread is looking ONLY at the 80 zoos in the Top 100 book, as there are some more obscure zoos that also have hippos. For example, Wildlife Safari in Oregon has at least one common hippo and plenty of pygmy hippos are in the private sector.

Fresno's ex-director Scott Barton had long-term plans for hippos, but now that he's retired then that project is currently in limbo as the zoo is focusing on its upcoming Asian complex.
 
Any opinion on the best pygmy hippo exhibit? I have only seen about half on the list, and San Diego seems to be the best.
 
Earlier today I began to work on: "The North American Hippo Population" list. I have noticed that most facilities house 2-3 individuals that were born in the 70's - 90's. Most of the hippos in North America are female as well.

Disney's Animal Kingdom holds the crown, from what I've seen so far, for having the most hippos in North America, with a whopping 10 individuals living at their facility. (I am struggling to find information on them, though, so if anyone knows anything about them I'd love to hear it.)

On a side note, I might break my computer if I see another hippo named Kiboko... there are three in North America named Kiboko already.. there are people suggesting it as a name for Albuquerque's new female as well...
 
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snowleopard said:
Birmingham
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Birmingham appears to have lost their last hippo, Tadpole, in 2020.

Fort Worth, Ellen Trout, and Wildlife Safari all have common hippos as well now, which is great to see.

From what I've found online, 26 facilities in the United States house common hippos. There are 64 (17.38.9) individuals in the United States and 9 (4.5) in Canada. Eight of the mystery-sex individuals are from Disney's Animal Kingdom, with the only other one being Moyo from Busch Gardens.
 
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EsserWarrior said:
Earlier today I began to work on: "The North American Hippo Population" list. I have noticed that most facilities house 2-3 individuals that were born in the 70's - 90's. Most of the hippos in North America are female as well.

Disney's Animal Kingdom holds the crown, from what I've seen so far, for having the most hippos in North America, with a whopping 10 individuals living at their facility. (I am struggling to find information on them, though, so if anyone knows anything about them I'd love to hear it.)

On a side note, I might break my computer if I see another hippo named Kiboko... there are three in North America named Kiboko already.. there are people suggesting it as a name for Albuquerque's new female as well...
Click to expand...
At least the US zoos dont to to go to far to obtain any extra Hippos if needed with around 100 swimming around in Columbia. :D
 
EsserWarrior said:
Earlier today I began to work on: "The North American Hippo Population" list. I have noticed that most facilities house 2-3 individuals that were born in the 70's - 90's. Most of the hippos in North America are female as well.

Disney's Animal Kingdom holds the crown, from what I've seen so far, for having the most hippos in North America, with a whopping 10 individuals living at their facility. (I am struggling to find information on them, though, so if anyone knows anything about them I'd love to hear it.)

On a side note, I might break my computer if I see another hippo named Kiboko... there are three in North America named Kiboko already.. there are people suggesting it as a name for Albuquerque's new female as well...
Click to expand...
Will you be posting this information as a separate, comprehensive thread? I'm surprised by the lack of openly available information regarding hippos in the US particularly, it would be great to have a list compiled on zoochat at the very least!

Through a brief search (so probably not news to you but possibly to other interested individuals who may come across this thread :D) I found that two of Disney's ten Nile hippos are 24-year-old female Tuma and 25-year-old male Henry (father of the Cincinnati Zoo's female Bibi, who is mother of the famous Fiona :))

Tuma and Henry produced a male calf named Augustus in 2018 (the park's first in 13 years), and another calf in 2021

I should have additional data to contribute soon!
 
EsserWarrior said:
Birmingham appears to have lost their last hippo, Tadpole, in 2020.

Fort Worth, Ellen Trout, and Wildlife Safari all have common hippos as well now, which is great to see.

From what I've found online, 26 facilities in the United States house common hippos. There are 64 (17.38.9) individuals in the United States and 9 (4.5) in Canada. Eight of the mystery-sex individuals are from Disney's Animal Kingdom, with the only other one being Moyo from Busch Gardens.
Click to expand...

I'm looking forward to seeing your list! As a ZooChat 'Premium Member', I was able to edit my post 24 hours after initialing typing it up, so I've deleted Birmingham and added Fort Worth to make my original list now fully updated. There are still 22 of the 80 major American zoos in my book with common hippos, and what are the other 4 zoos with the species in the U.S.? Ellen Trout, DeYoung and Wildlife Safari are three of them (and I've visited all those zoos and remember hippo exhibits), but out of curiosity what is the final zoo with common hippos?
 
snowleopard said:
There are still 22 of the 80 major American zoos in my book with common hippos, and what are the other 4 zoos with the species in the U.S.? Ellen Trout, DeYoung and Wildlife Safari are three of them (and I've visited all those zoos and remember hippo exhibits), but out of curiosity what is the final zoo with common hippos?
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The Capital of Texas Zoo I believe. Their website says they have one male.
 
pachyderm pro said:
The Capital of Texas Zoo I believe. Their website says they have one male.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I remember visiting that obscure zoo in the summer of 2015 and being surprised by a common hippo exhibit. It's a zoo where you honk your horn upon arrival to let the owner know you are there! :p Here's my photo of the exhibit:

full
 
pachyderm pro said:
I am really surprised to see that there only a dozen collections with pygmy hippo. I thought they were way more plentiful then that. Interestingly, ten years ago Brookfield also had both common and pygmy hippos and now they have neither.

I might be adding fuel to the firey debate going down on the hot takes thread, but I personally prefer common hippos over their dwarf relatives. They are so impressive and while I enjoy pygmy hippos as well, something about seeing a massive nile hippo is pretty awe-inspiring. Unfortunately many zoos in the US have failed to create a great hippo exhibit. Cincinnati, Fort Worth, Dallas and Milwaukee all have opened exhibits in recent years that are way too small and can barely accommodate more than two or maybe three animals, all for a focus on underwater viewing. I love underwater viewing and I think it can make the animals look way more impressive, but I don't want it at the expense of the hippos welfare. Cheyenne Mountain's new exhibit looks excellent and is one of the few exhibits that can actually hold a decent sized breeding herd. The newer exhibit at Memphis also looks pretty nice and that exhibit has underwater viewing as well as a decent sized land area. Those two are definitely the best of the hippo exhibits that have opened in the past five years.

Are there any other common hippo exhibits planned for the future? Fresno? Los Angeles?
Click to expand...
Milwaukee is planning hippo and black rhino indoor renovation including outdoor rhino renovation
 
csartie said:
I found that two of Disney's ten Nile hippos are 24-year-old female Tuma and 25-year-old male Henry (father of the Cincinnati Zoo's female Bibi, who is mother of the famous Fiona :))

Tuma and Henry produced a male calf named Augustus in 2018 (the park's first in 13 years), and another calf in 2021

I should have additional data to contribute soon!
Click to expand...

This is a different Henry than Fiona's sire. Henry from Cincinnati died shortly after Fiona was born.

Fiona's dad, Henry the hippo, dies at Cincinnati Zoo
 
MidwestFan said:
This is a different Henry than Fiona's sire. Henry from Cincinnati died shortly after Fiona was born.

Fiona's dad, Henry the hippo, dies at Cincinnati Zoo
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Disney's Henry isn't Fiona's sire, he's her grandfather (father of her mother, Bibi)!

EDIT: I believe you were clarifying for other readers? Gosh so sorry for assuming otherwise, I have a hard time interpreting tone and intent via text sometimes :D I wasn't sure if I clarified his relation enough in my original post or not!
 
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csartie said:
Will you be posting this information as a separate, comprehensive thread? I'm surprised by the lack of openly available information regarding hippos in the US particularly, it would be great to have a list compiled on zoochat at the very least!

Through a brief search (so probably not news to you but possibly to other interested individuals who may come across this thread :D) I found that two of Disney's ten Nile hippos are 24-year-old female Tuma and 25-year-old male Henry (father of the Cincinnati Zoo's female Bibi, who is mother of the famous Fiona :))

Tuma and Henry produced a male calf named Augustus in 2018 (the park's first in 13 years), and another calf in 2021

I should have additional data to contribute soon!
Click to expand...

The information will be posted in its own thread. :D

Once I try to make a list for Mexico's individuals it will be posted.
 
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