Australasian Hippo Population

Updated Founder List

1.0 Dizzie (1898)
1.0 William (1908)
0.1 Rosamund (1909)
1.0 Chaka (1923)
0.1 Fatima (1928)
0.1 Hilda/Henrietta (Unk)
1.0 Billy (1948 or 1950)
1.0 Kabete (1953)
0.1 Lindy (1948 or 1954) - if not Taronga bred
0.1 Mumsy (1959)

Only founders known or suspected to have contributed to the current population are listed.
 
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RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
Mumsy only ever had one calf (Albert/Brutus in 1965), when she was not six yet, so she could have died as young as six years old.
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I'd estimate that Mumsy died around 1967-1968 (aged 8-9 years), considering she never had another calf after Albert (in 1965), and Bonnie, who left for Auckland Zoo on December 21, 1966, probably would not have left if Mumsy had already died.
 
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RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
I'd estimate that Mumsy died around 1967-1968 (aged 8-9 years), considering she never had another calf after Albert (in 1965), and Bonnie, who left for Auckland Zoo on December 21, 1966, probably would not have left if Mumsy had already died.
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I think you're spot on with the timing as it also ties in with Lindy giving birth to Victoria (1967) and Suzie (1970), who both survived.

However, I don't believed she died as the file notes she was transferred to a private facility. This was probably a circus.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
Henrietta was born on February 14th, 1961, at Melbourne Zoo, to Rangi and Peggy/Esmeralda. Billy and Lindy were both wild-born in 1948.
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Thanks, there's been a few newspaper articles suggesting the birth dates of Billy and Lindy are different, so I edited to note both dates.

The Henrietta I refer to was a Taronga hippo imported from the wild. The Melbourne Henrietta was not a founder.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Thanks, there's been a few newspaper articles suggesting the birth dates of Billy and Lindy are different, so I edited to note both dates.

The Henrietta I refer to was a Taronga hippo imported from the wild. The Melbourne Henrietta was not a founder.
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I think that was Lindy who was the hippo that was imported from the wild, and Henrietta was the one that was born in 1954.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
I think that was Lindy who was the hippo that was imported from the wild, and Henrietta was the one that was born in 1954.
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No, Henrietta was mentioned along with Hilda as adults held at Taronga in 1953. We've also found earlier references to their import.
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
There was also a male named Known at Taronga as of March-April 1957. The only thing I have found of Known is that he sired Bonnie (of Auckland), who was born on November 17th, 1957. His birth year, death date, and birthplace are unknown.
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Interesting! I wonder if this was to denote Billy wasn't her sire. It could be a mistake though as they wouldn't have wanted another bull on site; and a theoretical son of Billy would have been barely two years old by the time of Bonnie's conception.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
Mumsy was probably born on June 1st, 1959, in Washington D.C (and would have been Arusha and Joe Smith's first calf). I think she was originally named "Jessie" when she lived in Washington D.C, then was renamed "Mumsy" when she was moved to an unknown location (probably Sydney) on May 15th, 1961. It also clearly states in both that they may be identical to each other. Mumsy only ever had one calf (Albert/Brutus in 1965), when she was not six yet, so she could have died as young as six years old.
Tierdetails
Tierdetails
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I think Mumsy also mothered Toby.

Mumsy and Toby were sent to Dubbo in 1976. Mumsy had an un-surviving calf there in 1978 with Toby.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
There was also a male named Known at Taronga as of March-April 1957. The only thing I have found of Known is that he sired Bonnie (of Auckland), who was born on November 17th, 1957. His birth year, death date, and birthplace are unknown.
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Bonnie's sire was Billy- it's mentioned in newspaper articles. I'm not sure about this male, but he could've possibly been the offspring born in 1954.

Zoofan15 said:
No, Henrietta was mentioned along with Hilda as adults held at Taronga in 1953. We've also found earlier references to their import.
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Yes, Hilda and Henrietta were imported from Kenya in 1951. One was born in 1950, the other in 1948.
 
Notice to all users:

This thread is getting quite lengthy, which is making it a chore to find things.

From here on:

Don't post a post consisting of two sentences and then another below within minutes consisting of the same. Give them titles if the subjects are different and include them in one post.

Quote threads as a group. If you wanna reply to four posts, quote all four in one go - don't do four replies.

Cheers.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Notice to all users:

This thread is getting quite lengthy, which is making it a chore to find things.

From here on:

Don't post a post consisting of two sentences and then another below within minutes consisting of the same. Give them titles if the subjects are different and include them in one post.

Quote threads as a group. If you wanna reply to four posts, quote all four in one go - don't do four replies.

Cheers.
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Should we maybe create a discussion/speculation thread. I think that's the best idea as this thread will be getting quite lengthy anyway.
 
This image interested me so I thought I might share it.
This is what I believe is Monarto's hippo dam before its completion. I thought I'd share it so everyone could gauge its size and location. I assume they will need to construct a lot of shade area surrounding it as it is pretty exposed to the sun.
8b312557c30b5d44dad9d5b16c20a46f
 
Swanson02 said:
This image interested me so I thought I might share it.
This is what I believe is Monarto's hippo dam before its completion. I thought I'd share it so everyone could gauge its size and location. I assume they will need to construct a lot of shade area surrounding it as it is pretty exposed to the sun.
8b312557c30b5d44dad9d5b16c20a46f
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I believe there are going to be 8 dams built perhaps completed by now, one concept drawing showed the hippo lake over looked by a safari hotel wether thats just a concept or a planned idea who can say.
 
Zorro said:
I believe there are going to be 8 dams built perhaps completed by now, one concept drawing showed the hippo lake over looked by a safari hotel wether thats just a concept or a planned idea who can say.
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Yes, the eventual plan is to have eight waterholes. It appears the hippopotami will occupy either the seventh or eighth waterhole (now also filled) as they weren’t mentioned during the filling of the first six in 2020.

SAWater - Monarto’s Wild Safari piped with new waterholes

The first six clay lined waterholes have been piped with raw River Murray water from the Murray Bridge to Onkaparinga Pipeline, providing up to ten million litres of water per waterhole for a number of rare African animals roaming the 560-hectare Monarto property to drink, bathe, relax and play.

These waterholes will eventually provide a vital place for animals like Southern White Rhinos, antelope species, zebras, ostriches and giraffe to congregate and cool off.
 
Swanson02 said:
This image interested me so I thought I might share it.
This is what I believe is Monarto's hippo dam before its completion. I thought I'd share it so everyone could gauge its size and location. I assume they will need to construct a lot of shade area surrounding it as it is pretty exposed to the sun.
8b312557c30b5d44dad9d5b16c20a46f
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing. This looks immense and truly demonstrates the scope of it. The medium to large integrated female pod they have the opportunity to create will be a far cry from the pair once held in a cramped exhibit at Adelaide.
 
Taronga Zoo - Pygmy Hippopotamus Pregnancy

Taronga Zoo have posted an exciting update on their socials.

After the sad loss of their calf in December 2021, Kambiri has recovered and staff have observed a successful mating between her and Fergus.

Kambiri has been putting on weight and staff are hopeful for the safe delivery of a calf in the near future.

Congrats also to @Abbey for noting the change of exhibits on your recent visit.
 
Interesting post i've just read on the forum from a while ago that I thought i'd mention here; apparently Werribee wanted Tipperary's trio of hippos for their Kubu River exhibit which opened in 2006. They wanted to keep their four in the former hippo lakes, but as it turned out, these were the ones eventually moved over to the new exhibit.

What could've been if Werribee received an additional adult female and two of her calves (one of which was a young bull himself)!
 
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