That’s quite correct it comes down to bad management the hippo’s should of been managed better and not let them fall down between the cracks
Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo News 2021
- Thread starter WhistlingKite24
- Start date
I know many people on here were frustrated by Auckland Zoo’s decision to castrate their only bull Common hippopotamus. It was primarily carried out to reduce fighting between him and his sire, who died later that year (leaving them with no intact bulls).
Several calves were born at Auckland Zoo throughout the 80’s and early 90’s, but most were killed by other adults in the exhibit. The zoo trialled hormonal contraception of the females to control population growth as no other zoo in the region wanted hippos.
Common hippopotami were still thriving in Australian zoos at this point, but a lack of direction in recent years (namely Dubbo sitting on two adult bulls, while Werribee had none) has seen things spiral into an increasingly desperate situation.
At the end of the day it again boils back to management and lack of foresight and planning
Unfortunately despite many previous recommendations, management at Werribee and Dubbo haven’t worked together to do the best for the future of hippos in the region. Dubbo had two bulls and it was actually recommended for Mana to be sent to Werribee for breeding in around 2008, but that never occurred. This recommendation was likely for Brindabella, who had had her previous calf killed by its father, Harry and its aunt, Primrose.
Werribee too has had a lack of success with their breeding but it has came down to luck. They have had five surviving calves, all of whom were female, alongside 3 calves who died early on at least two of which were male. The situation might’ve been a little different now if at least one of these males survived.
This type of situation is not good for any zoo even more so when they are the only ones holding that species within the region.Also Werribee zoos originally had a more primitive set up for its hippo’s unlike the modern exhibit that they currently have which may have been part of the problem
In addition to the five surviving females (born 1990, 1990, 2003, 2008 and 2013), Werribee has had four non surviving calves:
Two were born to Primrose - including one born May 2002 that died at two weeks of age after she accidentally crushed it.
Two were born to Brindabella - the first was a male named Kijana that was born February 2001 and killed by Harold/Primrose in May 2002; the second was stillborn in August 2011.
Although Werribee’s set up wasn’t as complex as Dubbo’s, they did at least have the capacity to seperate Brindabella and Kijana from the herd. Unfortunately the barrier dividing them and Harold/Primrose was breeched by the latter, leading to the fatal attack on the 15 month old calf.
Primroses first calf (born in 2002) was a male. It died after she accidentally crushed it. I wasn’t aware she another non surviving calf? This would’ve had to have been after Lotus’s birth in 2008 as she was stated as being Primrose’s third calf.
The set up back then was two ponds which were only viewable by the bus. Werribee had always kept the two females in one and then Harry in the other. When it came to breeding initially they elected to seperate Brindabella (for the birth of Kijana in 2001), but then reintroduce them to others following the birth of a young calf to Primrose. This unfortunately resulted in both Primrose and Harry attacking and killing Kijana. From then on Brindabella was kept seperate, and Harry, Primrose and their daughters lived together, up until the opening of the current Hippo complex where they had more space and could afford to breed Brindabella again.
Yes, there was a report online that listed the number of births to each hippo in the region. I don’t know further details (DOB or gender) of Primrose’s other non surviving calf.
Zoos often only report surviving offspring or offspring previously acknowledged in the media, so it’s possible Primrose had this calf prior to 2002; or between the births of Tulip and Lotus. The five years between these two leaves more than enough room for a birth during this time.
It’s interesting to note how quickly Primrose conceived again after the death of her newborn in May 2002 (Tulip was born January 2003). These short inter-birth intervals were also common at Auckland Zoo following the death of a newborn calf.
That’s quite true. I wasn’t aware of any pregnancies from Primrose following the birth of Lotus in 2008. They appeared to shift their focus to breeding Brindabella after Primrose had two surviving daughters.
The short intervals between Primrose’s first calves were due to the fact that she was kept with Harry during this time. At Auckland there were many instances of females breeding within a year after the death of their previous calf because they were kept with the bull.
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I think like you say, they were wanting to shift the focus onto Brindabella (who represented a seperate maternal line, which underpresented in the region); while Primrose and her two daughters represented a cohesive pod that could live together without the need for contraception. Females can give birth as young as three, so they presumably had to administer contraception to Tulip during Harold’s time with their pod - which has the potential to impact upon future reproduction.
Snorkle at Auckland Zoo gave birth to her final calf in September 1991, which was just seven months after the birth of her previous calf (non surviving) - this was literally the gestation period, indicating she conceived the week she gave birth. In most cases, she conceived within six months of the deaths of her newborns.
Once the new Hippo enclosure opened in 2006, Harry was kept seperate so I don’t think they would’ve needed to administer contraception to Tulip. Werribee were interested in acquiring Mana initially around the time the Kubu River complex opened, but this never panned out. It’s a shame as he could’ve provided Werribee with a second bull, and then a replacement one once Harold died. Happy could’ve still been used as Dubbo’s breeding bull.
It’s a shame Nile has never breed. It would’ve made the most sense to pair her with Happy following Rumbin’s death in 2011. It’s hard to see her getting pregnant now at the age of 22, but maybe she has a slight chance in the future with her nephew, Kani.
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