Australasian Hippo Population

Tam Skylonobi said:
I did not realise that some of the hippos in Australia were actually inbred through father and daughter mating.
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Yes at Auckland Zoo, Kabete bred with Nada to produce Snorkel; and Bonnie to produce Faith. Kabete then sired several offspring to Snorkle and Faith. Two of those offspring (Fonzie and Solucky) then bred with each other to produce Cuddles, who is the mother of Kibibi and Kendi.

Harold at Werribee similarly sired two daughters in 1990 named Primrose and Brindabella. He then bred with each of them in turn to produce Tulip, Lotus and Pansy.
 
I've started reading through the IRA draft review document. I'm by no means an expert on this, but found some points interesting:
  • It was mentioned hippos were often housed in mixed-species exhibits. This wouldn't have been my instinct, but many pygmys are housed with aquatic birds or koi.
  • Hippos were temporarily imported into Australia in the 1990s by a circus? That's news to me and very fascinating.
 
Abbey said:
I've started reading through the IRA draft review document. I'm by no means an expert on this, but found some points interesting:
  • It was mentioned hippos were often housed in mixed-species exhibits. This wouldn't have been my instinct, but many pygmys are housed with aquatic birds or koi.
  • Hippos were temporarily imported into Australia in the 1990s by a circus? That's news to me and very fascinating.
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Busch Gardens (Tampa Bay) hold them with a fish species. Assuming the water is well filtered, it shouldn’t be an issue.

The circus notation came as a surprise to me. It notes they were here on a short term/temporary basis, so ultimately are of no consequence to the population; but interesting nonetheless!

The last imported into Australia (permanently) were Fonzie (1986) and Solucky (1987) from Auckland Zoo. This import is also referenced in the report.
 
Abbey said:
I've started reading through the IRA draft review document. I'm by no means an expert on this, but found some points interesting:
  • It was mentioned hippos were often housed in mixed-species exhibits. This wouldn't have been my instinct, but many pygmys are housed with aquatic birds or koi.
  • Hippos were temporarily imported into Australia in the 1990s by a circus? That's news to me and very fascinating.
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Zoofan15 said:
Busch Gardens (Tampa Bay) hold them with a fish species. Assuming the water is well filtered, it shouldn’t be an issue.

The circus notation came as a surprise to me. It notes they were here on a short term/temporary basis, so ultimately are of no consequence to the population; but interesting nonetheless!

The last imported into Australia (permanently) were Fonzie (1986) and Solucky (1987) from Auckland Zoo. This import is also referenced in the report.
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A lot of zoos worldwide hold their hippos in a mixed species exhibit with fish. I do know that San Diego mixes their Pygmy's with Wolf's Guenon.

It's also really interesting re. the circus import. It's likely this would've been a Common Hippo rather than a Pygmy, but it would be interesting to hear where they came from. Obviously they weren't here for long; hence the lack of knowledge on them!
 
Jambo said:
It's also really interesting re. the circus import. It's likely this would've been a Common Hippo rather than a Pygmy, but it would be interesting to hear where they came from. Obviously they weren't here for long; hence the lack of knowledge on them!
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I agree they were likely Common hippopotamus. I hadn’t considered hippopotamus the most trainable animal, at least compared to felids and elephants; but a quick search proved me wrong. I see some circuses also promoted themselves as a travelling zoo, so merely seeing one in a cage may have been of part of the attraction.

Historically, at least one Common hippopotamus has been sent to a circus from within the region. 1.0 Billy (born 1930 at Melbourne Zoo) was sent to a Brisbane circus at the age of two and returned in 1938.
 
@Astrobird You can read more here about the circus hippo: Zusha is one big star

"Zusha was born in the Quebec Zoo, when Akhundov and Ludmila of the Moscow State Circus became her surrogate parents and trainers. The couple carefully nurtured the large mammal and oversaw her training. When she made her debut with the Moscow State Circus, she became an instant celebrity with Russian audiences. Since that time, Zusha has become an international star. "When she toured Australia, she become an instant hit, they called her the "world's only thespian hippo,"' says the highly animated Akhundov."
 
Melbourne Zoo import plans:

An exciting update from @Mlawlor in the Melbourne Zoo thread that Melbourne Zoo are hoping to import a female Pygmy hippopotamus once biosecurity restrictions permit (IRA completion). Hopefully these plans (as always, subject to change) come to fruition.

This ends speculation of whether there would be pairings of either of the daughters of Fergus and Kambiri (Taronga) with Melbourne’s bull.

Fantastic news considering our Pygmy hippopotamus population would greatly benefit from new imports.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Melbourne Zoo import plans:

An exciting update from @Mlawlor in the Melbourne Zoo thread that Melbourne Zoo are hoping to import a female Pygmy hippopotamus once biosecurity restrictions permit (IRA completion). Hopefully these plans (as always, subject to change) come to fruition.

This ends speculation of whether there would be pairings of either of the daughters of Fergus and Kambiri (Taronga) with Melbourne’s bull.

Fantastic news considering our Pygmy hippopotamus population would greatly benefit from new imports.
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Exciting update but not the least surprising imo. If Melbourne wished to pair Felix with a related cow from within the region, they could've done that years ago with Kamina. Instead, they've elected to take the long route and hopefully they see fulfilment of this in the coming years with a female acquired from overseas.

With the IRA is in its final stages - with the risk analysis being finalised now, I'm confident Melbourne will have the opportunity very very soon with the final report still to be published. Melbourne should be at the stage where they are actively beginning to search for a female overseas that can be moved over when time permits.
 
Jambo said:
Exciting update but not the least surprising imo. If Melbourne wished to pair Felix with a related cow from within the region, they could've done that years ago with Kamina. Instead, they've elected to take the long route and hopefully they see fulfilment of this in the coming years with a female acquired from overseas.

With the IRA is in its final stages - with the risk analysis being finalised now, I'm confident Melbourne will have the opportunity very very soon with the final report still to be published. Melbourne should be at the stage where they are actively beginning to search for a female overseas that can be moved over when time permits.
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I hope that in addition to Melbourne Zoo importing a female Pygmy hippopotamus, they’ll be at least one other import to diversify the gene pool of the region. Darling Downs Zoo are one potential candidate, with a young female of prime breeding age.

Considering Pygmy hippopotamus are a solitary species and the regional capacity isn’t huge (at least not currently), I’d be surprised if we saw more than 2-3 imports within the decade. They’re not difficult to breed and a pair can easily produce young every two years. Two or three pairs are more than sufficient to provide any additional holders that arise with offspring.

I imagine Fergus and Kambiri will be retired; or at least one of them re-paired following completion of the IRA. There’s the potential for more valuable matches and they now have two surviving daughters.
 
Auckland Zoo - Wahanui (1972-1972)

Wahanui the Common hippopotamus was born 20/06/1972 to Bonnie and died four months later on 18/10/1972. His name was Māori for ‘Big Mouth’.

I was interested to know the cause of Wahanui’s death as while deaths of Common hippopotamus calves at the neonate stage were common, Wahanui had survived to four months of age.

I found an old article this week which details how the zoo’s vet noticed Wahanui wasn’t in his usual exhibit alongside his mother; and discovered he’d squeezed through the dividing bars into the adjacent exhibit (which housed the zoo’s bull hippopotami). Wahanui was then killed by one of the bulls.

Bonnie (1957-1982) was imported from Taronga Zoo in 1966 and gave birth to a total of eight calves at Auckland Zoo. Wahanui was her first to survive the neonate phase; Faith (1975-2016) was the second.

Auckland Zoo had 2.2 Common hippopotamus when Wahanui was born in June 1972:

1.0 Kabete (1953-1993) Imported 1956
0.1 Bonnie (1957-1982) Imported 1966
0.1 Snorkel (1959-2010) Kabete x Nada
1.0 Scuba (1964-1980) Kabete x Nada

It’s interesting to note that at the time of Wahanui’s death, the two adult bulls were housed together. The zoo trialled a number of social groupings and clearly prioritised separation of the mother and newborn calf to give it the best chances of survival.

Since Snorkel gave birth to Hope in January 1973, it seems likely Snorkle was moved across to the male exhibit in June 1972 (gestation is seven months), which tied in with Wahanui’s birth that month. This would have given Bonnie total isolation to raise her calf.

It then appears Bonnie (who next gave birth June 1973), was again housed with the bulls in December, which was a month prior to Snorkel delivering Hope.

With Bonnie and Snorkel each having a surviving daughter from that decade, the social groupings then became the two mother daughter dyads housed together (Bonnie/Faith; Snorkle/Hope), each with one of the bulls. This continued until Scuba died in 1980; and all the adult hippopotami were merged into one group in 1982, following the move to the new exhibit.
 
Fergus (2009-2024)

Some unfortunate news that Fergus the Pygmy hippopotamus has died at Taronga Zoo, following an illness.

Fergus is survived by his two offspring, Kamina (2017), now at Darling Downs Zoo; and Lololi (2024), who remains at Taronga Zoo.

The death of Fergus reduces the regional Pygmy hippopotamus population to 2.3:

Taronga Zoo:

0.1 Kambiri (26/06/2010) Timmy x Petre
0.1 Lololi (15/01/2024) Fergus x Kambiri

Melbourne Zoo:

1.0 Felix (17/11/2006) Frank x Fluffy

Adelaide Zoo:

1.0 Obi (25/05/2015) Felix x Petre

Darling Downs Zoo:

0.1 Kamina (21/02/2017) Fergus x Kambiri

With Fergus’ death, there is no longer a breeding pair of Pygmy hippopotamus in the region. My understanding is Kambiri and Lololi will remain at Taronga; though I note Felix at Melbourne is Kambiri’s best genetic match and Melbourne have the capacity to hold a pair/breed. Due to the relatedness of the regional population, it seems more likely that any new pairings will be made via imports following completion of the Hippopotamus IRA.
 
steveroberts said:
@Zoofan15

Likely already suggested by you or one of our amigos but if Melbourne was open to the idea of swapping Felix for Lololi with Taronga once Lololi is at an age of independence would be good.
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Considering Taronga already has one of the Capybara occupying Fergus's old habitat, it may even be easier to transfer Kambiri down to Melbourne leaving Lololi at Taronga.

Melbourne have a second, empty exhibit of which Felix is currently rotating in and out of.
 
@Jambo

Yeah it would mean Melbourne could have a hopeful return of Pygmy Hippo births if Kambiri and Felix bond, and Taronga would forgo any other births for at least several more years, but with Lololi like her mother Kambiri being born at Taronga, regular repeated visitors to the zoo who have knowledge of them are very fond of them both, but someday Lololi could be a mother herself and am sure Taronga would quite possibly want her to stay at the zoo too.
 
steveroberts said:
@Jambo

Yeah it would mean Melbourne could have a hopeful return of Pygmy Hippo births if Kambiri and Felix bond, and Taronga would forgo any other births for at least several more years, but with Lololi like her mother Kambiri being born at Taronga, regular repeated visitors to the zoo who have knowledge of them are very fond of them both, but someday Lololi could be a mother herself and am sure Taronga would quite possibly want her to stay at the zoo too.
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And once the IRA is hopefully passed in the next few years, Taronga could acquire a male for Lololi from overseas!

It does seem to be the easiest route for the region to undertake in the mean time with the IRA still in progress.
 
@Jambo

Also with Melbourne they do have the best Pygmy Hippo exhibits comparatively so most optimal for a holder (again) of multiple individuals and for breeding. Fergus's old exhibit is a good size for Rodney the Capybara currently but was and is on the small side for Pygmy Hippos and same can be said for Kambiri & Lololi's current exhibit (great vantage point for underwater viewing..but that could be replicated on a much larger size scale in a new and better sized exhibit if Taronga does go ahead with their Tropical African precinct one day. In turn Kambiri & Lololi's exhibit someday might be a good exhibit for a Philippine Crocodile or two, or an extension of the Otter's exhibit so they have use of a bigger area.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
In very pleasing news, the Hippo IRA has been completed, allowing the imports of Common and Pygmy Hippos into Australia:
Biosecurity review supports hippo populations in Australia’s welfare accredited zoos
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Fantastic news.

The countries Australia have permission to import from are as follows:

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand.

The application of the Hippopotamus IRA to the Common hippopotamus population is obvious, we need to import bulls (or semen) to resume breeding; but I’m encouraged to hear the report specifically mention the value of the region’s Pygmy hippopotamus population (being an endangered species) and am optimistic we’ll see imports of this species also. Melbourne have more than enough room to import a female (and breed); while Taronga are planning a new exhibit and have two cows.
 
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