Australasian Hippo Population

[Zoofan15]

I’d first like to thank @Patrick Keegan for passing on this information. The four of us that run the population threads (@Zoofan15, @WhistlingKite24, @akasha and @Patrick Keegan) have an agreement that only the author of the population thread posts updates e.g. births, deaths and transfers; and so he has kindly provided me with this (exciting) news to announce.

====================

Common Hippopotamus Breeding Update

According to a keeper from Taronga Western Plains Zoo, the plan is for Kani to be transferred to Monarto Zoo. This will follow the transfer of Brindabella and Pansy there next year.

This will give Monarto a founder base of 1.2 hippos:

1.0 Kani (15/04/2020)
0.1 Brindabella (09/12/1990)
0.1 Pansy (18/11/2013)

The recommendation within the region is for bulls to be introduced for breeding at a minimum of five years old. Since Kani is the only bull in the region, they will surely follow this to minimise the risk of injury to him from the cows. Potentially, this could see the first calf born around 2025/2026.

Given cows can potentially breed into their early 40’s, there’s still time for Brindabella to produce more calves. Long term, it may be possible to integrate Brindabella and Pansy together with their respective calves following the advisable isolation period.

Monarto haven’t divulged details of their hippopotamus facilities; though advice suggests it will be an expansive facility more than capable of managing multiple hippopotami.

As for what this means for Werribee, they could potentially receive a bull from Monarto in just under a decade from now; though I’d like to hope in that space of time, the long awaited IRA would be in place to allow them to import from outside the region instead.

Exciting times ahead!

 

[Zorro]

I’d first like to thank @Patrick Keegan for passing on this information. The four of us that run the population threads (@Zoofan15, @WhistlingKite24, @akasha and @Patrick Keegan) have an agreement that only the author of the population thread posts updates e.g. births, deaths and transfers; and so he has kindly provided me with this (exciting) news to announce.

====================

Common Hippopotamus Breeding Update

According to a keeper from Taronga Western Plains Zoo, the plan is for Kani to be transferred to Monarto Zoo. This will follow the transfer of Brindabella and Pansy there next year.

This will give Monarto a founder base of 1.2 hippos:

1.0 Kani (15/04/2020)
0.1 Brindabella (09/12/1990)
0.1 Pansy (18/11/2013)

The recommendation within the region is for bulls to be introduced for breeding at a minimum of five years old. Since Kani is the only bull in the region, they will surely follow this to minimise the risk of injury to him from the cows. Potentially, this could see the first calf born around 2025/2026.

Given cows can potentially breed into their early 40’s, there’s still time for Brindabella to produce more calves. Long term, it may be possible to integrate Brindabella and Pansy together with their respective calves following the advisable isolation period.

Monarto haven’t divulged details of their hippopotamus facilities; though advice suggests it will be an expansive facility more than capable of managing multiple hippopotami.

As for what this means for Werribee, they could potentially receive a bull from Monarto in just under a decade from now; though I’d like to hope in that space of time, the long awaited IRA would be in place to allow them to import from outside the region instead.

Exciting times ahead!

I’d first like to thank @Patrick Keegan for passing on this information. The four of us that run the population threads (@Zoofan15, @WhistlingKite24, @akasha and @Patrick Keegan) have an agreement that only the author of the population thread posts updates e.g. births, deaths and transfers; and so he has kindly provided me with this (exciting) news to announce.

====================

Common Hippopotamus Breeding Update

According to a keeper from Taronga Western Plains Zoo, the plan is for Kani to be transferred to Monarto Zoo. This will follow the transfer of Brindabella and Pansy there next year.

This will give Monarto a founder base of 1.2 hippos:

1.0 Kani (15/04/2020)
0.1 Brindabella (09/12/1990)
0.1 Pansy (18/11/2013)

The recommendation within the region is for bulls to be introduced for breeding at a minimum of five years old. Since Kani is the only bull in the region, they will surely follow this to minimise the risk of injury to him from the cows. Potentially, this could see the first calf born around 2025/2026.

Given cows can potentially breed into their early 40’s, there’s still time for Brindabella to produce more calves. Long term, it may be possible to integrate Brindabella and Pansy together with their respective calves following the advisable isolation period.

Monarto haven’t divulged details of their hippopotamus facilities; though advice suggests it will be an expansive facility more than capable of managing multiple hippopotami.

As for what this means for Werribee, they could potentially receive a bull from Monarto in just under a decade from now; though I’d like to hope in that space of time, the long awaited IRA would be in place to allow them to import from outside the region instead.

Exciting times ahead!

I would hope that importation would not be more than two years away perhaps sooner

 

[Zoofan15]

I would hope that importation would not be more than two years away perhaps sooner

It would be advantageous to bring in some bulls soon, so the Dubbo and Werribee cows aren’t reliant on waiting for Kani to sire bull calves at Monarto. Primrose at Werribee is the same age as Brindabella and her daughters aged 14 and 19 have never bred; while Cuddles at Dubbo could potentially have another two decades of reproductive life ahead of her - as well as having two young daughters that are now of reproductive age.

@Patrick Keegan was also advised that there was an attempt to breed from Happy and Nile prior to his death in 2019. Unfortunately these attempts were unsuccessful due to Happy ceasing to produce viable semen in his final years. This was likely due to his declining health; as male hippos are fertile throughout life and Happy had previous sired calves to Rumbin. Nile is 23 years old, but could still reproduce given this species isn’t affected by the reproductive issues that afflict elephants and rhinos from periods of non reproduction.

 

[Zorro]

It would be advantageous to bring in some bulls soon, so the Dubbo and Werribee cows aren’t reliant on waiting for Kani to sire bull calves at Monarto. Primrose at Werribee is the same age as Brindabella and her daughters aged 14 and 19 have never bred; while Cuddles at Dubbo could potentially have another two decades of reproductive life ahead of her - as well as having two young daughters that are now of reproductive age.

@Patrick Keegan was also advised that there was an attempt to breed from Happy and Nile prior to his death in 2019. Unfortunately these attempts were unsuccessful due to Happy ceasing to produce viable semen in his final years. This was likely due to his declining health; as male hippos are fertile throughout life and Happy had previous sired calves to Rumbin. Nile is 23 years old, but could still reproduce given this species isn’t affected by the reproductive issues that afflict elephants and rhinos from periods of non reproduction.

I would guess that the current holder’s have some plan in the works for importation I really dont believe they would expect to inbreed any more than it already has done at this point

 

[Zoofan15]

I would guess that the current holder’s have some plan in the works for importation I really dont believe they would expect to inbreed any more than it already has done at this point

I would hope not. It was quite a surprise to learn through our recent research that the entire regional population descends from a single bull (Billy); with his offspring subsequently inbred to each other and in turn their own offspring at both Dubbo and Werribee.

Auckland similarly bred two daughters with their father and then the offspring those matings produced were bred to each other to produce a hippo that ironically is the most genetically valuable individual of its species in the region - highlighting how desperate things have gotten.

 

[Jambo]

I’d first like to thank @Patrick Keegan for passing on this information. The four of us that run the population threads (@Zoofan15, @WhistlingKite24, @akasha and @Patrick Keegan) have an agreement that only the author of the population thread posts updates e.g. births, deaths and transfers; and so he has kindly provided me with this (exciting) news to announce.

====================

Common Hippopotamus Breeding Update

According to a keeper from Taronga Western Plains Zoo, the plan is for Kani to be transferred to Monarto Zoo. This will follow the transfer of Brindabella and Pansy there next year.

This will give Monarto a founder base of 1.2 hippos:

1.0 Kani (15/04/2020)
0.1 Brindabella (09/12/1990)
0.1 Pansy (18/11/2013)

The recommendation within the region is for bulls to be introduced for breeding at a minimum of five years old. Since Kani is the only bull in the region, they will surely follow this to minimise the risk of injury to him from the cows. Potentially, this could see the first calf born around 2025/2026.

Given cows can potentially breed into their early 40’s, there’s still time for Brindabella to produce more calves. Long term, it may be possible to integrate Brindabella and Pansy together with their respective calves following the advisable isolation period.

Monarto haven’t divulged details of their hippopotamus facilities; though advice suggests it will be an expansive facility more than capable of managing multiple hippopotami.

As for what this means for Werribee, they could potentially receive a bull from Monarto in just under a decade from now; though I’d like to hope in that space of time, the long awaited IRA would be in place to allow them to import from outside the region instead.

Exciting times ahead!

Great news for Monarto, and it's great to get closure on Kani's destination. It's interesting they chose Monarto over Werribee, but this obviously indicates Monarto plans to create some state of the art hippo facilities.

Brindabella and Pansy will likely be transferred in the second half of next year. I'd imagine Kani would follow around a year later. Since Kani's being sent to Monarto; both cows will be breed from. Pansy is of perfect age to begin breeding, and Brindabella could still produce calves too. The only thing might be the long gap between her births. It'll be at least eleven years before she has her next calf. Hopefully she can conceive successfully though! Worst case scenario is two cows are born first, meaning Werribee won't be able to receive a bull for at least another decade.

I do believe though that considering Werribee has now sent two of their cows to Monarto, and decided to send the regions only bull there too, the IRA is close to completion. Werribee seem to have a lot of confidence in such move; making space for more hippos ect. Hopefully we can get some more hippos into the country before a son of Kani's is required.

 

[Jambo]

was also advised that there was an attempt to breed from Happy and Nile prior to his death in 2019. Unfortunately these attempts were unsuccessful due to Happy ceasing to produce viable semen in his final years. This was likely due to his declining health; as male hippos are fertile throughout life and Happy had previous sired calves to Rumbin. Nile is 23 years old, but could still reproduce given this species isn’t affected by the reproductive issues that afflict elephants and rhinos from periods of non reproduction

That would make sense to why Happy was never sent to Werribee. He and Nile were often paired up together following Suzie's death in 2016.

Nile will hopefully get a chance to breed again soon, although if new imports are on the way i'm not sure a cow of her age will be favoured to breed. She's almost 23 and if an IRA isn't completed soon, a son of Kani's could still be seven or eight years away, by which time it may to be late for her.

 

[Zorro]

Great news for Monarto, and it's great to get closure on Kani's destination. It's interesting they chose Monarto over Werribee, but this obviously indicates Monarto plans to create some state of the art hippo facilities.

Brindabella and Pansy will likely be transferred in the second half of next year. I'd imagine Kani would follow around a year later. Since Kani's being sent to Monarto; both cows will be breed from. Pansy is of perfect age to begin breeding, and Brindabella could still produce calves too. The only thing might be the long gap between her births. It'll be at least eleven years before she has her next calf. Hopefully she can conceive successfully though! Worst case scenario is two cows are born first, meaning Werribee won't be able to receive a bull for at least another decade.

I do believe though that considering Werribee has now sent two of their cows to Monarto, and decided to send the regions only bull there too, the IRA is close to completion. Werribee seem to have a lot of confidence in such move; making space for more hippos ect. Hopefully we can get some more hippos into the country before a son of Kani's is required.

I believe if the Monarto rhino complex is anything to go by I can’t see any lesser of a job being done on a brand new home for a breeding group of hippos I hope common sense tells them to put their feeler’s out now for new animals

 

[Zoofan15]

That would make sense to why Happy was never sent to Werribee. He and Nile were often paired up together following Suzie's death in 2016.

Nile will hopefully get a chance to breed again soon, although if new imports are on the way i'm not sure a cow of her age will be favoured to breed. She's almost 23 and if an IRA isn't completed soon, a son of Kani's could still be seven or eight years away, by which time it may to be late for her.

Even if Happy had been fertile, I’d assume Nile would be favoured for breeding over the Werribee females as Primrose has had two calves and her daughters are significantly younger. Though any argument of genetic representation is almost moot given how inbred they all are.

Re. Nile’s age and the gaps between Brindabella and Primrose’s last calves, I don’t expect it to be an issue. The periods of non reproduction aren’t detrimental to hippos in the same way they are to elephants and rhinos. Evidence of this is Victoria producing a calf in 2009 at Adelaide (a decade or more after her last birth); and Petre breeding for the first time in her 20’s - two decades after she attained reproductive maturity.

 

[Zoofan15]

I believe if the Monarto rhino complex is anything to go by I can’t see any lesser of a job being done on a brand new home for a breeding group of hippos I hope common sense tells them to put their feeler’s out now for new animals

Depending on their facilities and the personalities of those involved, they could even run two female pods - one consisting of Brindabella, Pansy and their female offspring; and another created from an imported female. New female lines are needed as well as new bulls.

 

[Jambo]

Even if Happy had been fertile, I’d assume Nile would be favoured for breeding over the Werribee females as Primrose has had two calves and her daughters are significantly younger. Though any argument of genetic representation is almost moot given how inbred they all are.

Re. Nile’s age and the gaps between Brindabella and Primrose’s last calves, I don’t expect it to be an issue. The periods of non reproduction aren’t detrimental to hippos in the same way they are to elephants and rhinos. Evidence of this is Victoria producing a calf in 2009 at Adelaide (a decade or more after her last birth); and Petre breeding for the first time in her 20’s - two decades after she attained reproductive maturity.

Depending on their facilities and the personalities of those involved, they could even run two female pods - one consisting of Brindabella, Pansy and their female offspring; and another created from an imported female. New female lines are needed as well as new bulls.

Facilities wise I initially believed it was due to spatial reasons; Dubbo were only choosing to breed from Mana and Cuddles who were the least related, and sitting on Happy. Maybe it would've been a better option to send Mana to Werribee (who's more distantly related to the Werribee girls) and retain Happy as the Dubbo breeding bull.

That's good to know those factors won't be coming into play.

If an IRA is passed, a group of 4.4 hippos would be great for the region in the meantime. Three of the bulls could be used as the bulls for Monarto, Werribee and Dubbo while a fourth could act as a backup.

Monarto will most likely have some world class facilities on the way which i'd imagine could hold 10+ hippos, which will help a larger IRA import to go through.

Monarto could use two of the new females to create entirely seperate pods from the Brindabella/Pansy one; and the other two could easily be used at Dubbo or Werribee, or even a new facility such as Altina which has shown interest in acquiring them.

 

[Swanson02]

If an IRA is passed, a group of 4.4 hippos would be great for the region in the meantime. Three of the bulls could be used as the bulls for Monarto, Werribee and Dubbo while a fourth could act as a backup.

Monarto will most likely have some world class facilities on the way which i'd imagine could hold 10+ hippos, which will help a larger IRA import to go through.

Monarto could use two of the new females to create entirely seperate pods from the Brindabella/Pansy one; and the other two could easily be used at Dubbo or Werribee, or even a new facility such as Altina which has shown interest in acquiring them.

That's great news and I definitely will ask about their plans for hippos on my upcoming trip to Monarto (if anyone has any specific questions let me know). It also gives me more hope as it makes me think that all 3 zoos are now collaborating on the IRA and a consequent import. Monarto definitely could hold 10+ hippos as space isn't an issue, only funds, it's the most cash-strapped out of the 3.

From my predictions, the Hippos will be placed on the left (when entering) of the new visitor center with the bus driving past their exhibit rather than through (for obvious aggression reasons). One major issue for Monarto will be maintaining the large dams year-round for them. Monarto is the largest, dryest, and Hottest zoo (in summer) in the region, and the largest permanent body of water in the park currently is the small fountain and pond in the Chimp exhibit, a far cry from a dam. I have no doubt Monarto will be able to do it, it's just that Monarto is hot, sunny, and very dusty in the summer (which is dangerous for hippos' sensitive skin) but I know hippos inhabit similar climates in Namibia and Botswana and manage to survive. It makes me wonder how they will both avoid extreme evaporation and clean the dams. Surely there are zoos in arid regions like the UAE and the southern USA that hold hippos so maybe Monarto has already taken some notes.

 

[Zorro]

That's great news and I definitely will ask about their plans for hippos on my upcoming trip to Monarto (if anyone has any specific questions let me know). It also gives me more hope as it makes me think that all 3 zoos are now collaborating on the IRA and a consequent import. Monarto definitely could hold 10+ hippos as space isn't an issue, only funds, it's the most cash-strapped out of the 3.

From my predictions, the Hippos will be placed on the left (when entering) of the new visitor center with the bus driving past their exhibit rather than through (for obvious aggression reasons). One major issue for Monarto will be maintaining the large dams year-round for them. Monarto is the largest, dryest, and Hottest zoo (in summer) in the region, and the largest permanent body of water in the park currently is the small fountain and pond in the Chimp exhibit, a far cry from a dam. I have no doubt Monarto will be able to do it, it's just that Monarto is hot, sunny, and very dusty in the summer (which is dangerous for hippos' sensitive skin) but I know hippos inhabit similar climates in Namibia and Botswana and manage to survive. It makes me wonder how they will both avoid extreme evaporation and clean the dams. Surely there are zoos in arid regions like the UAE and the southern USA that hold hippos so maybe Monarto has already taken some notes.

Going by videos up on the net showing large capacity dams have been built i assume they have worked that out, one such video shows the dam being filled by a pump. If you could ask them about any plan for importation would be awesome also how many animals are they planning on carrying

 

[Zorro]

Depending on their facilities and the personalities of those involved, they could even run two female pods - one consisting of Brindabella, Pansy and their female offspring; and another created from an imported female. New female lines are needed as well as new bulls.

Two pods would be good I have believed for some time now that some new cows should be imported to broaden bloodlines and boost the numbers

 

[Zoofan15]

That's great news and I definitely will ask about their plans for hippos on my upcoming trip to Monarto (if anyone has any specific questions let me know). It also gives me more hope as it makes me think that all 3 zoos are now collaborating on the IRA and a consequent import. Monarto definitely could hold 10+ hippos as space isn't an issue, only funds, it's the most cash-strapped out of the 3.

Cheers @Swanson02, we all look forward to hearing any news. My main questions would be:

1. Do they plan to breed from both Brindabella and Pansy?
2. Will the cows breed simultaneously or rotationally?
3. Will reintroductions be attempted once the calf is old enough?
4. Any updates on the IRA/import numbers?
5. What’s Monarto’s holding capacity and target number?

 

[Zorro]

Cheers @Swanson02, we all look forward to hearing any news. My main questions would be:

1. Do they plan to breed from both Brindabella and Pansy?
2. Will the cows breed simultaneously or rotationally?
3. Will reintroductions be attempted once the calf is old enough?
4. Any updates on the IRA/import numbers?
5. What’s Monarto’s holding capacity and target number?

The move of cows from Werribee to Monarto and the only bull in the country to Monarto points towards the fact that the 3 major zoos are working together on a plan of recovery in the region. I would not be surprised if they weren’t cooperating together to do a importation

 

[Jambo]

The move of cows from Werribee to Monarto and the only bull in the country to Monarto points towards the fact that the 3 major zoos are working together on a plan of recovery in the region. I would not be surprised if they weren’t cooperating together to do a importation

Yes, it's good news for the future. If long term, Werribee were unconfident an IRA would be completed I doubt they would be sending two of the cows to Monarto and, same with sending the bull to Monarto, which I thought would've been the obvious next step.

It seems hopefully Werribee and Dubbo have hopes for an IRA to go very soon, and if it does, it will be the first import of hippos from overseas in almost 70 years.

 

[Zorro]

Yes, it's good news for the future. If long term, Werribee were unconfident an IRA would be completed I doubt they would be sending two of the cows to Monarto and, same with sending the bull to Monarto, which I thought would've been the obvious next step.

It seems hopefully Werribee and Dubbo have hopes for an IRA to go very soon, and if it does, it will be the first import of hippos from overseas in almost 70 years.

My guess with these moves its almost certain
70 year’s is a tad over due !

 

[Jambo]

My guess with these moves its almost certain
70 year’s is a tad over due !

It definitely seems so! I can't see why else Werribee would send two of their cows and a possible breeding bull away; only if they plan to replace them with future imports!

The last wild-born import was Kabete to Auckland in 1956. The last in Australia was Billy and Elizabeth in 1954. Considering inbreeding has been prevalent in Australian zoos since the 1970's, overseas imports are long long overdue. I'm surprised Dubbo and Werribee didn't take the initiative to import more hippos in the 70's and 80's. I don't believe there any restrictions in place back then?

 

[Zorro]

It definitely seems so! I can't see why else Werribee would send two of their cows and a possible breeding bull away; only if they plan to replace them with future imports!

The last wild-born import was Kabete to Auckland in 1956. The last in Australia was Billy and Elizabeth in 1954. Considering inbreeding has been prevalent in Australian zoos since the 1970's, overseas imports are long long overdue. I'm surprised Dubbo and Werribee didn't take the initiative to import more hippos in the 70's and 80's. I don't believe there any restrictions in place back then?

I believe lack of importation back in the 70s could of been due to sheer complacency that everything was going well, there needs to be an improved way of better managing some of these species that appear to be dropped down between the cracks like the pygmy hippo was, they had opposite sex animals in different major zoos here for years until someone woke up to the fact or was the fact only noticed by someone after reading about it on the forum