Australasian Hippo Population

Jambo said:
I've heard that, although that dosen't really line up for me. Esmerelda was mentioned as being at Melbourne when Billy (the male sent to the circus) returned. I also have it down as Esmerelda being born in 1933
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I’ve looked it up and yes, Esmeralda (originally named Sally) was born June 1933 at Melbourne Zoo. She was the eighth and final calf of William, who died via tennis ball the month she was born.
Jambo said:
That's interesting. Harold sired quite a lot of calves! We know of an additional four (1985 male, 1989 male, Brindabella and Primrose), but other than that, i'm not sure. I don't believe Henrietta was bred from due to her inability to raise calves, so those other 11 calves were likely born to Genevieve and Beatrice in the 80's and 90's.
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We can probably attribute the high mortality of calves to the high population density. Werribee initially had five hippopotami and the cows were likely housed together, with the bulls rotating. The close conception dates of Primrose and Brindabella imply that Harold was housed with both their mothers in one group at conception.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’ve looked it up and yes, Esmeralda (originally named Sally) was born June 1933 at Melbourne Zoo. She was the eighth and final calf of William, who died via tennis ball the month she was born.


We can probably attribute the high mortality of calves to the high population density. Werribee initially had five hippopotami and the cows were likely housed together, with the bulls rotating. The close conception dates of Primrose and Brindabella imply that Harold was housed with both their mothers in one group at conception.
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Yes, so it makes me doubt the theory that Esmerelda was sent to the circus. I believe they've confused her with Billy (1930).

Yes, Werribee had two ponds. Beatrice and Genevieve were likely housed with Harold as the breeding group, whereas the other male was kept with Henrietta as a non breeding pair.

I've done further research on this other male (who arrived in 1966) but have found absolutely nothing. Information dosen't support him being Taronga born; yet Taronga's the only option...unless he was wildborn?
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
Lindy was actually born in 1948 and moved to Dubbo on October 27th, 1992, which means she was at least 44 years old when she died. Tierdetails
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Thank you for that information @RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe. According to this source, she was also wild born (Tanzania), which is a surprise.
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
What happened to Mafuta (1991) at Taronga Western Plains Zoo?
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Mafuta died, though her date of death is unknown sorry. It would have been sometime in the mid to late 2000’s.
 
Adelaide Zoo History

0.1 was imported from the wild 1900:

0.1 Lischin (1897) Died 09/06/1901

1.0 was transferred from Melbourne Zoo 1920:

1.0 Edward (16/03/1918) Died 24/10/1924

1.0 was imported from Auckland Zoo 1934:

1.0 Newsboy (00/01/1932) Died 11/08/1977

1.1 were transferred from Bacchus Marsh 1975:

1.0 Albert (18/05/1965) Died 07/05/2020
0.1 Victoria (30/12/1967) Died 20/07/2017

Albert and Victoria produced 17 calves:

0.1 Unnamed (13/10/1976) Died 14/10/1976
0.1 Unnamed (13/07/1977) Died 23/07/1977
1.0 Unnamed (01/08/1978) Died 02/08/1978
0.1 Unnamed (24/04/1979) Died 27/04/1979
0.1 Alice (19/01/1980) Transferred 25/03/1981 (Werribee)
0.1 Beatrice (08/04/1981) Transferred 13/09/1982 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (22/07/1983) Died 24/07/1983
0.1 Unnamed (07/08/1984) Died 18/08/1984
0.1 Unnamed (02/04/1985) Died 08/04/1985
0.1 Rumbin (22/02/1986) Transferred 19/10/1989 (Dubbo)
1.0 Unnamed (18/12/1987) Died 19/12/1987
1.0 Leopold (21/04/1989) Transferred 28/11/1990 (Werribee)
0.1 Kibu (29/03/1991) Exported 22/10/1992 (Kuala Lumpur)
0.1 Unnamed (26/09/1996) Died 28/09/1996
1.0 Makoko (12/02/1998) Transferred 27/06/1999 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (20/05/2007) Died 00/05/2007
0.1 Unnamed (00/00/2009) Died 00/00/2009

Thanks to @RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe for the above information. What a surprise so many hippopotami were transferred to Werribee. Prior to this I only knew of Beatrice.

We can conclude Beatrice was Brindabella’s mother given the other female was unnamed in the records and apparently died shortly after arrival. I named her Alice (following the Victoria/Albert theme) to distinguish her against her parent’s many non surviving calves.
 
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RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
Albert and Victoria actually arrived in Adelaide on January 3rd, 1975. Albert ARRIVED at Bacchus Marsh on April 30th, 1969, while Victoria arrived there nine days later.
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Thank you, I’ve edited that in.

Thank you also for finding this amazing resource. I did actually use it to create a list of Auckland Zoo’s hippos (before being given access to their complete history - see Post #54), but had forgotten it existed. It was highly exciting to come across a complete list of Albert and Victoria’s many calves!

Taronga/Dubbo Population:

I’m half way through putting together a list of findings on Taronga/Dubbo’s population via the Tierdetails site, which I will post later today.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
Lindy was actually born in 1948 and moved to Dubbo on October 27th, 1992, which means she was at least 44 years old when she died. Tierdetails
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Interestingly this fills in a blank that notes the eldest dam in the region was 45 years old. Lindy gave birth to a calf at Dubbo in 1993.

Lindy may have been Hilda or Henrietta, who were imported in 1951. A news article noted one was 12 months old (Henrietta) and the other was full grown (Hilda). The article speculated she could have been into her teens, but I'd assume her age was back dated based on her longevity and reproduction.

The other possibility is she was another import, though this seems unlikely.

In my original research I came across a news article stating Lindy was born 1954 at Taronga, however this easily could have been a reporting error. Mistakes were frequent in news articles. I will see what else I find when I post the Taronga/Dubbo info from Tierdetails.
 
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Zoofan15 said:
Adelaide Zoo History

0.1 was imported from the wild 1900:

0.1 Lischin (1897) Died 09/06/1901

1.0 was transferred from Melbourne Zoo 1920:

1.0 Edward (16/03/1918) Died 24/10/1924

1.0 was imported from Auckland Zoo 1934:

1.0 Newsboy (00/01/1932) Died 11/08/1977

1.1 were transferred from Bacchus Marsh 1975:

1.0 Albert (18/05/1965) Died 07/05/2020
0.1 Victoria (30/12/1967) Died 20/07/2017

Albert and Victoria produced 17 calves:

0.1 Unnamed (13/10/1976) Died 14/10/1976
0.1 Unnamed (13/07/1977) Died 23/07/1977
1.0 Unnamed (01/08/1978) Died 02/08/1978
0.1 Unnamed (24/04/1979) Died 27/04/1979
0.1 Alice (19/01/1980) Transferred 25/03/1981 (Werribee)
0.1 Beatrice (08/04/1981) Transferred 13/09/1982 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (22/07/1983) Died 24/07/1983
0.1 Unnamed (07/08/1984) Died 18/08/1984
0.1 Unnamed (02/04/1985) Died 08/04/1985
0.1 Rumbin (22/02/1986) Transferred 19/10/1989 (Dubbo)
1.0 Unnamed (18/12/1987) Died 19/12/1987
1.0 Leopold (21/04/1989) Transferred 28/11/1990 (Werribee)
0.1 Kibu (29/03/1991) Exported 22/10/1992 (Kuala Lumpur)
0.1 Unnamed (26/09/1996) Died 28/09/1996
1.0 Makoko (12/02/1998) Transferred 27/06/1999 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (20/05/2007) Died 00/05/2007
0.1 Unnamed (00/00/2009) Died 00/00/2009

Thanks to @RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe for the above information. What a surprise so many hippopotami were transferred to Werribee. Prior to this I only knew of Beatrice.

We can conclude Beatrice was Brindabella’s mother given the other female was unnamed in the records and apparently died shortly after arrival. I named her Alice (following the Victoria/Albert theme) to distinguish her against her parent’s many non surviving calves.
Click to expand...

It'd be fascinating to know the combinations the Werribee hippos were kept in. I'm especially curious to know how they managed the arrival of the young bull from Adelaide in 1990, as Primrose and Brindabella were about to be born. As an immature bull, it's possible he may have been tolerated by Harold to be housed with him and any non breeding cows, though in any event it appears that the two mothers shared an exhibit with their newborns.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
Lindy was actually born in 1948 and moved to Dubbo on October 27th, 1992, which means she was at least 44 years old when she died. Tierdetails
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Thats very very interesting. I'm not sure what to think of this. As some of the information from the website seems off or contradicting to what we've found.

RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
What happened to Mafuta (1991) at Taronga Western Plains Zoo?
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She died in 2007. Her mother, Rumbin, died in 2011.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Adelaide Zoo History

0.1 was imported from the wild 1900:

0.1 Lischin (1897) Died 09/06/1901

1.0 was transferred from Melbourne Zoo 1920:

1.0 Edward (16/03/1918) Died 24/10/1924

1.0 was imported from Auckland Zoo 1934:

1.0 Newsboy (00/01/1932) Died 11/08/1977

1.1 were transferred from Bacchus Marsh 1975:

1.0 Albert (18/05/1965) Died 07/05/2020
0.1 Victoria (30/12/1967) Died 20/07/2017

Albert and Victoria produced 17 calves:

0.1 Unnamed (13/10/1976) Died 14/10/1976
0.1 Unnamed (13/07/1977) Died 23/07/1977
1.0 Unnamed (01/08/1978) Died 02/08/1978
0.1 Unnamed (24/04/1979) Died 27/04/1979
0.1 Alice (19/01/1980) Transferred 25/03/1981 (Werribee)
0.1 Beatrice (08/04/1981) Transferred 13/09/1982 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (22/07/1983) Died 24/07/1983
0.1 Unnamed (07/08/1984) Died 18/08/1984
0.1 Unnamed (02/04/1985) Died 08/04/1985
0.1 Rumbin (22/02/1986) Transferred 19/10/1989 (Dubbo)
1.0 Unnamed (18/12/1987) Died 19/12/1987
1.0 Leopold (21/04/1989) Transferred 28/11/1990 (Werribee)
0.1 Kibu (29/03/1991) Exported 22/10/1992 (Kuala Lumpur)
0.1 Unnamed (26/09/1996) Died 28/09/1996
1.0 Makoko (12/02/1998) Transferred 27/06/1999 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (20/05/2007) Died 00/05/2007
0.1 Unnamed (00/00/2009) Died 00/00/2009

Thanks to @RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe for the above information. What a surprise so many hippopotami were transferred to Werribee. Prior to this I only knew of Beatrice.

We can conclude Beatrice was Brindabella’s mother given the other female was unnamed in the records and apparently died shortly after arrival. I named her Alice (following the Victoria/Albert theme) to distinguish her against her parent’s many non surviving calves.
Click to expand...

Edward certainly didn't die in 1924; there's articles listing his death in 1928.

I'm extremely surprised to see how many hippos were transferred to Werribee. They had four (2.2) as of 2000, which we can assume where Harry (1978), Brindeballa (1990), Primrose (1990) and Makoko (1998). Makoko must've died young, possibly killed by Harry who would've been reintroduced later that year for Brindabella to conceive in 2001.

Alice (1980) must've died young too, as she was replaced by Beatrice (1981) the following year. And we can assume the same for Leopold (1989); he died prior to 1999.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Interestingly this fills in a blank that notes the eldest dam in the region was 45 years old. Lindy gave birth to a calf at Dubbo in 1993.

Lindy may have been Hilda or Henrietta, who were imported in 1951. A news article noted one was 12 months old (Henrietta) and the other was full grown (Hilda). The article speculated she could have been into her teens, but I'd assume her age was back dated based on her longevity and reproduction.

The other possibility is she was another import, though this seems unlikely.

In my original research I came across a news article stating Lindy was born 1954 at Taronga, however this easily could have been a reporting error. Mistakes were frequent in news articles. I will see what else I find when I post the Taronga/Dubbo info from Tierdetails.
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All this new information is making no sense!:p

I also come across multiple articles claiming Lindy was Taronga born. But then again, so was a female named 'Heather' who i've deduced NOT to be Taronga born. So maybe this is on the right track. It also explains why they kept Lindy with Billy, when they theoretically could've retained Mumsy who was shipped off to Dubbo. I think we can assume the 12 month old was Henrietta/Mumsy, and the fully grown female (or three year old) was Hilda/Lindy.
 
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Zoofan15 said:
It'd be fascinating to know the combinations the Werribee hippos were kept in. I'm especially curious to know how they managed the arrival of the young bull from Adelaide in 1990, as Primrose and Brindabella were about to be born. As an immature bull, it's possible he may have been tolerated by Harold to be housed with him and any non breeding cows, though in any event it appears that the two mothers shared an exhibit with their newborns.
Click to expand...

They had two ponds, plus an off display one. It's likely Harry may have been sent to the off display pond, grouped with the young male. Leaving Beatrice and Genevieve to give birth in the two on display enclosures. We'd have to assume both Henrietta and Alice were deceased by this time though.
 
Jambo said:
Edward certainly didn't die in 1924; there's articles listing his death in 1928.

I'm extremely surprised to see how many hippos were transferred to Werribee. They had four (2.2) as of 2000, which we can assume where Harry (1978), Brindeballa (1990), Primrose (1990) and Makoko (1998). Makoko must've died young, possibly killed by Harry who would've been reintroduced later that year for Brindabella to conceive in 2001.

Alice (1980) must've died young too, as she was replaced by Beatrice (1981) the following year. And we can assume the same for Leopold (1989); he died prior to 1999.
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I would assume Makoko was brought in to breed with Primrose and Brindabella. I imagine he was held separately to Harold and the two females, who were kept in one group. Brindabella was seperated following the birth of her calf in 2001. Makoko had presumably died prior to this or they would have had him sire Brindabella's calf (being a more distant relation).
 
Jambo said:
They had two ponds, plus an off display one. It's likely Harry may have been sent to the off display pond, grouped with the young male. Leaving Beatrice and Genevieve to give birth in the two on display enclosures. We'd have to assume both Henrietta and Alice were deceased by this time though.
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That makes sense. I suppose its worth noting that calves can survive with their mother's protection against other adults. A few lucky ones survived at Auckland Zoo, usually when the other females were preoccupied with their own offspring as Brindabella and Primrose would have been. They also had a lot more space at Werribee.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Adelaide Zoo History

0.1 was imported from the wild 1900:

0.1 Lischin (1897) Died 09/06/1901

1.0 was transferred from Melbourne Zoo 1920:

1.0 Edward (16/03/1918) Died 24/10/1924

1.0 was imported from Auckland Zoo 1934:

1.0 Newsboy (00/01/1932) Died 11/08/1977

1.1 were transferred from Bacchus Marsh 1975:

1.0 Albert (18/05/1965) Died 07/05/2020
0.1 Victoria (30/12/1967) Died 20/07/2017

Albert and Victoria produced 17 calves:

0.1 Unnamed (13/10/1976) Died 14/10/1976
0.1 Unnamed (13/07/1977) Died 23/07/1977
1.0 Unnamed (01/08/1978) Died 02/08/1978
0.1 Unnamed (24/04/1979) Died 27/04/1979
0.1 Alice (19/01/1980) Transferred 25/03/1981 (Werribee)
0.1 Beatrice (08/04/1981) Transferred 13/09/1982 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (22/07/1983) Died 24/07/1983
0.1 Unnamed (07/08/1984) Died 18/08/1984
0.1 Unnamed (02/04/1985) Died 08/04/1985
0.1 Rumbin (22/02/1986) Transferred 19/10/1989 (Dubbo)
1.0 Unnamed (18/12/1987) Died 19/12/1987
1.0 Leopold (21/04/1989) Transferred 28/11/1990 (Werribee)
0.1 Kibu (29/03/1991) Exported 22/10/1992 (Kuala Lumpur)
0.1 Unnamed (26/09/1996) Died 28/09/1996
1.0 Makoko (12/02/1998) Transferred 27/06/1999 (Werribee)
1.0 Unnamed (20/05/2007) Died 00/05/2007
0.1 Unnamed (00/00/2009) Died 00/00/2009

Thanks to @RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe for the above information. What a surprise so many hippopotami were transferred to Werribee. Prior to this I only knew of Beatrice.

We can conclude Beatrice was Brindabella’s mother given the other female was unnamed in the records and apparently died shortly after arrival. I named her Alice (following the Victoria/Albert theme) to distinguish her against her parent’s many non surviving calves.
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Also, Leopolda (1989) was actually a female, not a male.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I would assume Makoko was brought in to breed with Primrose and Brindabella. I imagine he was held separately to Harold and the two females, who were kept in one group. Brindabella was seperated following the birth of her calf in 2001. Makoko had presumably died prior to this or they would have had him sire Brindabella's calf (being a more distant relation).
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The article I read indicated Harry was living separately from the other three; which yes, would make sense as Makoko was the chosen breeder. It's a shame he died so young. He was deceased by the following year (2001). I'm assuming he died sometime in mid 2000 shortly after the article was written, which allowed Harry to be moved back into the group with the females and sire Kijana in 2001.
 
Jambo said:
Also, Leopolda (1989) was actually a female, not a male.
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That males more sense given the last thing Werribee needed in 1990 was another bull on site. It's a shame Leopolda died young as she was significantly younger than the Melbourne females and could have provided Harold with a more distantly related mate for two decades until his death.
 
Zoofan15 said:
That males more sense given the last thing Werribee needed in 1990 was another bull on site. It's a shame Leopolda died young as she was significantly younger than the Melbourne females and could have provided Harold with a more distantly related mate for two decades until his death.
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Genevieve would've been 35 at the time, so it makes sense for them to import Leopolda as a breeding female alongside her older sister, Beatrice. A death date isn't provided, but it's possible she may have grown up to have some calves (that didn't survive).
 
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