Whipsnade's late female "Nigna" (mother of "Lola") came from Chessington too; she was sent to Whipsnade about a month before "Ben".
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Common Hippos in the UK (and Dublin)
- Thread starter CZJimmy
- Start date
Do you know her origin? I'm aware Ben was born at Chester, but haven't found much about Nigna.
Did Whipsnade have a gap with no Common Hippo before the Chessington ones came?
"Nigna" was born in Madrid on 27th August 1978.
No "Henry" and "Belinda" were still alive when the ex-Chessington hippos arrived. ("Henry" and "Belinda" died in 1993 and 1995 respectively.)
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Henry died a year later, and Belinda in 1995.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
So this - of the many things I think the zoo would really benefit from (apart from polar bears where the drive through is!) a hippo facility that looked a bit less like a paddock for horses would be one. Even without underwater viewing a more naturalistic or varied exhibit would be great. As you say it’s been the same for years and although the hippos are not unhappy there are lots more things they could be enjoying.
The last common hippos at London Zoo , "Neville," and "Fifi," were sent to Whipsnade in the autumn of 1960 and, at about the same time, the pygmy hippo “Peggy” was sent to Paignton Zoo. The old Hippo House (adjacent to the Giraffe House) was demolished shortly afterwards.
Unfortunately, a few months after they arrived at Whipsnade, the female “Fifi” attacked and fatally injured the male “Neville”; “Fifi” was subsequently sent to Belle Vue Zoo (Manchester).
I believe the last hippo to leave Chessington was "Ben" on 3rd January 1992.
I saw a Pygmy Hippo at Paignton in the early 60s, that might have been Peggy
Paignton Zoo had two pygmy hippos in the early 1960s "Peggy" and "Percy III".
("Percy III" was also an ex London Zoo animal which left London for Ilfracombe in 1952 and was transferred to Paignton in 1954.)
Press release today in Columbia.
The Escobar Hippos are now estimated to number 130.
Plans are now in place to move 70 to two sanctuaries in India and Mexico. It seems a huge logistical feat if they pull it off.
So who knows some may be available for Europe after all.
130 individuals!!! That's ridiculous
suppose if there are sanctuaries that are suitable then it doesn't matter what country they end up in.
Would think this would be right up YWP’s street nice rescue project for a few with huge media back story
Did they used to have Common Hippos at Woburn? I vaguely remember them just after the White Rhino paddock in the top right corner.
I think the house is still there?
I think the house is still there?
They did, the last died in the mid 2000’s.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
1:0 Pinky - 7/13/94 - Harvey x Gertie, passed away March 6th, 2006, at the young age of eleven ending Woburn's keeping of hippos for thirty-six years. He came to Woburn on 11/16/98, and had been the only hippo there since less than a year after he arrived there.
From memory, the enclosure wasn’t that great. It had a decent grassy area but a pretty small pool (more like a pond!) and a classic zoo “hippo house.” Views from the car weren’t that great either. The last time I visited the house was still there, and you could make out the foundations of the pool if you knew where to look. I don’t know how many hippos the enclosure could hold, but one seemed more than enough.
A shame really. I always thought Woburn could make a decent go of housing Common hippo.
A shame really. I always thought Woburn could make a decent go of housing Common hippo.