Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Cincinnati Zoo Hippos

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RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe

Well-Known Member
Can a hippo calf be expected this year? I know the zoo said that they were planning to mate Tucker with both Bibi and Fiona, but I don't think Fiona will become a mother in 2022, but Bibi could give birth this year.
 
Jambo said:
Cincinnati dosen't plan to breed their hippos until way down the road; they don't have the space right now.
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Even though the hippo exhibit is very small, the zoo is still working to breed Tucker and Bibi. I doubt a baby hippo will be born this year though.
 
Mai Thai said:
Even though the hippo exhibit is very small, the zoo is still working to breed Tucker and Bibi. I doubt a baby hippo will be born this year though.
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When Tucker first arrived it was mentioned breeding wouldn't be until much into the future.

"The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Hippo Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommended that Tucker move to Cincinnati to be Bibi’s companion and to enjoy being part of a hippo pod. If a baby is in their future, it will be way down the road before that happens” said Cincinnati Zoo’s director of animal care, Christina Gorsuch".
 
Jambo said:
When Tucker first arrived it was mentioned breeding wouldn't be until much into the future.

"The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Hippo Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommended that Tucker move to Cincinnati to be Bibi’s companion and to enjoy being part of a hippo pod. If a baby is in their future, it will be way down the road before that happens” said Cincinnati Zoo’s director of animal care, Christina Gorsuch".
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My apologies I have heard otherwise.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
I know the cost would be significant in terms of a new filtration system and newly constructed underwater viewing, but the complex would make a nice hippo exhibit if the zoo is really interested in cranking out babies and housing a decent-sized group.
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I agree with you on the new hippo exhibit. Having three adult hippos (yes Fiona is mature) in a small exhibit is bad planning. A new Common Hippo exhibit would totally work in the Elephant Reserve. Now I hope they don't have a hippo baby in the next 3-4 years.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
I agree with you on the new hippo exhibit. Having three adult hippos (yes Fiona is mature) in a small exhibit is bad planning. A new Common Hippo exhibit would totally work in the Elephant Reserve. Now I hope they don't have a hippo baby in the next 3-4 years.
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Cincinatti is only likely retaining Fiona due to her popularity; there would be a lot of visitors that come to see her. In the future once she gets older, she'd probably be sent away, but at least for now whilst she's still here, there won't be any breeding.

It's quite a new hippo enclosure too, so I don't imagine they'll be replacing it anytime soon.
 
Jambo said:
Cincinatti is only likely retaining Fiona due to her popularity; there would be a lot of visitors that come to see her. In the future once she gets older, she'd probably be sent away, but at least for now whilst she's still here, there won't be any breeding.

It's quite a new hippo enclosure too, so I don't imagine they'll be replacing it anytime soon.
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I've proposed this a while ago on ZooChat, and I'm not sure if the policy still stands at the zoo which did this/if Cincinnati can feasibly do so, but this would be a good way of not only providing "more home to roam" for the hippos, but also providing a good amount of enrichment for the hippos and their neighboring species.

I read on ZooChat that at San Antonio Zoo, their hippo and wild dog habitats are adjacent to one another, and sometimes they'd let the hippos graze at night in the wild dog yard when the dogs were inside. Is it possible to build a transfer chute was built into Painted Dog Valley, so during the summer/evening events, Bibi/Fiona/Tucker can graze in that adjacent habitat?

It seems like a short enough distance to build a sturdy transfer chute/gate system between habitats, and not only do the wild dogs get a scent of hippo, the hippos also get a scent of *wild dog*.
 
StoppableSan said:
I've proposed this a while ago on ZooChat, and I'm not sure if the policy still stands at the zoo which did this/if Cincinnati can feasibly do so, but this would be a good way of not only providing "more home to roam" for the hippos, but also providing a good amount of enrichment for the hippos and their neighboring species.

I read on ZooChat that at San Antonio Zoo, their hippo and wild dog habitats are adjacent to one another, and sometimes they'd let the hippos graze at night in the wild dog yard when the dogs were inside. Is it possible to build a transfer chute was built into Painted Dog Valley, so during the summer/evening events, Bibi/Fiona/Tucker can graze in that adjacent habitat?

It seems like a short enough distance to build a sturdy transfer chute/gate system between habitats, and not only do the wild dogs get a scent of hippo, the hippos also get a scent of *wild dog*.
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No it would not be feasible. The wild dogs have already torn almost all of the grass in the yard so there would not be enough for the hippos. Also the terrain would be dangerous for the hippos as well as having live trees in the wild dog habitat which the hippos would destroy. The viewing areas are also not able to withstand a hippo as the glass in not thick enough for a full grown hippo.
 
Mai Thai said:
No it would not be feasible. The wild dogs have already torn almost all of the grass in the yard so there would not be enough for the hippos. Also the terrain would be dangerous for the hippos as well as having live trees in the wild dog habitat which the hippos would destroy. The viewing areas are also not able to withstand a hippo as the glass in not thick enough for a full grown hippo.
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Plus the space between the hippos and the dogs has the main keeper access gate.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
The zoo says it can hold four hippos, but they can actually only hold two plus a calf.
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How do you know for certain they can actually only hold 1.1 adults plus a calf? While Bibi’s pregnancy was not supposed to occur so early, they obviously brought Tucker in to breed with her and most likely don’t plan on sending Fiona away anytime soon. I highly doubt the SSP would give Cincinnati a transfer and breeding recommendation if they didn’t have the room. Yes, they are likely a bit tight on space, but I would assume it’s sufficient at least.
 
Adventuredl said:
Does anyone know how many hippos the habitat can accommodate?
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RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
The zoo says it can hold four hippos, but they can actually only hold two plus a calf. It is a good exhibit for a single hippo though.
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IndianRhino said:
How do you know for certain they can actually only hold 1.1 adults plus a calf? While Bibi’s pregnancy was not supposed to occur so early, they obviously brought Tucker in to breed with her and most likely don’t plan on sending Fiona away anytime soon. I highly doubt the SSP would give Cincinnati a transfer and breeding recommendation if they didn’t have the room. Yes, they are likely a bit tight on space, but I would assume it’s sufficient at least.
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Irregardless of space, the most critical thing is the capacity to seperate Bibi and her newborn for an extended period of time - from both the bull and Fiona.

There’s a lot of anthropomorphic hype regarding Fiona becoming a big sister, but the reality is she’s a five year old female who would pose a significant risk to the newborn calf. Females as young as two have killed their newborn siblings at other zoos.

If Fiona is to remain at the zoo (she’s capable of breeding now), then she’ll be separated for weeks, possibly months; as will the bull.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Irregardless of space, the most critical thing is the capacity to seperate Bibi and her newborn for an extended period of time - from both the bull and Fiona.

There’s a lot of anthropomorphic hype regarding Fiona becoming a big sister, but the reality is she’s a five year old female who would pose a significant risk to the newborn calf. Females as young as two have killed their newborn siblings at other zoos.

If Fiona is to remain at the zoo (she’s capable of breeding now), then she’ll be separated for weeks, possibly months; as will the bull.
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I think that the zoo will introduce Fiona first and see how well that goes. If it goes VERY well, then they can consider throwing dad (Tucker) in the same enclosure as the calf.
 
I have seen the space, and I will be very interested to see how they deal with this situation. There are only four stalls and only two indoor pools, so they are either going to have to keep Fiona and Tucker together permanently or ship out one of the two once they start separating Bibi as she approaches parturition.

Polar bear fan said:
Is the zoo planning to bring in more, he was their only one.
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It wouldn’t make much sense to bring in more of a species if you’re sending out your only member of said species. Cincinnati really only took Mike as a favor for Columbus — Mike was unable to integrate with the herd at Columbus, and few zoos would be interested in a castrated male wildebeest. This move will be in the best interest for him given how social wildebeest are. It’s a shame it couldn’t have happened sooner.
 
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Kudu21 said:
I have seen the space, and I will be very interested to see how they deal with this situation. There are only four stalls and only two indoor pools, so they are either going to have to keep Fiona and Tucker together permanently or ship out one of the two once they start separating Bibi as she approaches parturition
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Which do you think would be the most likely to be shipped out, Fiona or Tucker? I feel like in this case it would be the bull...
 
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