I can't imagine London considering getting common hippo. 1.They don't fit with their 'conservation in action' motto. 2. The sealion pool isn't suitable for many reasons and 3. there is no suitable sized house. I can only imagine them having big Hippos again if they had a brand new 'underwater viewing' design, which raises the hippos' display value by about 99%. But I can't see it happening there.
Common Hippos in the UK (and Dublin)
- Thread starter CZJimmy
- Start date
taun
Well-Known Member
I can't see this happening either, more from the point of view that hippos take up a large area when housed properly & with Whipsnade housing Hippos I dont see the point in London taking them on.
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
Given that the pygmy hippos are moved out for the winter, this is a total non starter.
The cost of doing hippos well would be prohibitive. In Europe a few - wealthy - zoos have succeeded, but I think we must resign ourselves to seeing the tops of hippos' heads in murky pools here in the UK. It's a shame that the Abu Dhabi royal family isn't lkess interested in Manchester City FC, and more interested in zoos. Just think what the money being wasted on over-hyped South Americans could buy in a zoo!
taun
Well-Known Member
Thats life you, but they would prob try and make the zoo into theme park (Bush Gardens).
sadly you are right... the only zoo I can foresee possibly changing this in the future would be Chester if they do have Hippo again..
cerperal
Well-Known Member
No change at Longleat, unsurprisingly. Still 0.2 with Spot and Sonia.
Whipsnade lost a female, gained a male, made a male calf and then since transferred Hoover the bull to Flamingo Land, leaving them with 1.1 (mother and son).
cerperal
Well-Known Member
Nigna, mother to Lola and grandmother to Hodor, was euthanized in October 2016. IIRC she was around 38? Relatively young for a hippo, at least compared to the Longleat pair who are rumoured to be older than time itself.
She was definitely a very successful hippo, hopefully Lola continues to be bred as well and in another 15 years we can add some more numbers on.
It’ll never happen for a variety of reasons, but I’ve always hoped that Whipsnade would house a pod of Common hippo rather than the 1:1 and occasional calf that they have over the years.
Still, there’s probably not many collections that can say they house both Common AND Pygmy.
Still, there’s probably not many collections that can say they house both Common AND Pygmy.
Also West Midlands have recently received the castrated male from Flamingo Park haven't they. A mini -flurry of common hippo activity stirred up by FP wanting to breed them again I think, hence these two moves of males.
Yes, that's Ernie (2003). He's actually closely related to the Westmidlands females, being conceived there. His move was mainly due to FP wanting to breed from Godzilla.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
A very minor move to today, but Whipsnade's mother-son duo (Lola and Hodor) had a non-survivng calf together in October 2020. That means that they might end up being an "inbreeding pair" in the future, though it would be best to avoid it. hipposworld.de/tierdetails4.php?ISBN1=00043002
Alwaysevergreen
Well-Known Member
Is that actually possible? Hodor would have only been about 3 at that stage, and male Hippos don't usually become sexually fertile until at least 5 years +? Are you sure it wasn't another offspring of Hoover who didn't make it, as it seems strange that if 2 and a half years ago a mother and offspring mated, they would keep them together and even more strange that he shouldn't have been anywhere near sexually mature ?
And also, if true, it’s raises serious questions about the zoo’s animal management. Surely it would’ve been better to move Hodor on rather than his father?
@Nile Hippo Expert’s absolutely correct there. There was a calf born in 2020 that didn’t survive and Hodor was the father.
Males can become sexually mature as early as two years of age. A male in New Zealand sired his first calf at the age of three (with his mother too), so it’s not unnatural in a zoo setting, it’s certainly happened in other facilities as well. Females on the other hand, tend to reach sexual maturity a little later (at about the age of five/six).
With that in mind, I find it interesting that Whipsnade have elected to move Hoover and not Hodor. Maybe Flamingo Land wanted a ‘proven’ male, but even then, Hodor was also ‘proven’ too despite having an unsuccessful offspring. An idea to consider too would be size; Flamingo Land would’ve wanted a bull that’s of similar size (or bigger) than Godzilla. If adults are introduced to young juveniles, they can kill them in some instances.
Alwaysevergreen
Well-Known Member
Interesting. Is Hodor still entire then? As for a Conservation Zoo as ZSL report their zoos to be, I find it incredibly strange that they have allowed mother and son to stay together since, they were certainly living together last summer.
I would have thought that in-breeding would be frowned upon, especially in a zoo of the magnitude Whipsnade is held.
I would have thought that in-breeding would be frowned upon, especially in a zoo of the magnitude Whipsnade is held.