Laboratory 7
Well-Known Member
Come on give them sometime to get over the shock, before speculating what the plan for the female is.
Common Hippos in the UK (and Dublin)
- Thread starter CZJimmy
- Start date
Come on give them sometime to get over the shock, before speculating what the plan for the female is.
I wasn't criticising just meant what would the stud book be planning, I wasn't looking for an answer
cornu aspersum
Well-Known Member
Ernie was meant to be a companion to Heidi (he was castrated so no breeding) along with the fact that Dublin's current hippo facilities aren't the best which makes me believe (perhaps wrongly) the plan is to phase out the species there. Edit: @Babyrousa mentioned in the Dublin thread, some years ago a keeper saying that hippos may be phased out from the zoo.
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If that's the case, perhaps it will be beneficial to transfer her over to Whipsnade where she can get the opportunity to breed with Hodor.
Considering Dublin seems to be prioritising Heidi's social welfare (as evident by this move), they'll certainly have to re-engage in conversations as to what's next for her and hippos in general at Dublin.
Laboratory 7
Well-Known Member
One of these comments is not like the other....
Hmmmm what can you say, I'm thinking does not compute
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
Ernie and Godzilla at Flamingo Land just welcomed a female calf named Aurora on May 8th!
Flamingo Land baby hippo recovering after 'rocky' start
Flamingo Land baby hippo recovering after 'rocky' start
I think the father is "Hoover" (ex Whipsnade) not "Ernie".
If that video doesn’t melt your heart, then you’re clearly made of stone!
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
Yes it is, I get confused between these two often.
Orca obsessed
Well-Known Member
When was the last time a baby hippo has been born at WMSP? I really would like to see a bouncing baby hippo!
The last surviving calf was twenty years ago.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
WMSP actually only has four hippos now, all females, so not really a "big herd" anymore. They had a herd of 0.9 adult cows back in the late 2000s, five of which has died since then (including the two of their girls which died in the past 3 years). Their last breeding bull, Garfield, died aged seven in 2006 from I believe what was a failed castration attempt on him to prevent him from further inbreeding his mother and sisters (Mavis and Hilary, two of their current four, were inbred through him), and also due to tight spacing issues in the exhibit, and for that breeding at Bewdley has been discontinued ever since.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
Think this is a good time to mention that there is a European population thread I made last December.
European Nile Hippo Population
European Nile Hippo Population