Australasian Hippo Population

austrlain zoo gower said:
Good Point
A lot of places hype up stuff although they could be putting a Malayan tapir in there if she can live any long but the exhibit was basically empty with no plant
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I see the same happen at Hamilton Zoo. Signs advising something exciting was coming resulted in first goats, then donkeys. In contrast, prior to the Cheetah import last year, it was widely advertised that Cheetah were coming soon to that exhibit.

I’d say the Malayan tapir is the most likely option i.e. a transfer from within the zoo.
 
It would be great to see a new pygmy hippo come to Melbourne but i feel like the one from darlings down should move doesn't look like the best exhibit and plus darling downs zoo isn't to big and female hippos are hard to come by, melbourne has the space and room to breed
 
It would be weird if they put here in there seeing as if they did it all up and then she would probably be near death then they would be in the same predicament again
 
Right now the Malayan tapir exabit is ugly not much foliage and pool isn't heated and the exabit is kind of ugly she only has a small green tin shed, on the old map it showed the tapir being next to the hippo but cant find any evidence, melbourne zoo is also promoting that theuy are part of a breeding program for the hippo but it isnt looking like it will haopen ant time soon
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
It would be great to see a new pygmy hippo come to Melbourne but i feel like the one from darlings down should move doesn't look like the best exhibit and plus darling downs zoo isn't to big and female hippos are hard to come by, melbourne has the space and room to breed
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Precedent has usually seen the male go to the female i.e. Timmy returned to Taronga Zoo for breeding.

Transit carries a risk, so speaking bluntly, it’s probably better to transfer a male (which we have three of) versus a female (which we only have two of).

Darling Downs Zoo have extensive experience in ungulates across their team, so they could easily manage the introduction and breeding of the hippos if required to do so.
 
full
 
I dont know how melbourne zoo is going to replace its elephants probalty if not its best attraction a lot of theming will have to be changed to do so
on the map above it shows two tapir logos
 
I bit more info about the something coming about a year ago maybe a sign was put up in front of the exibibt i watched a tour that went past the sign but couldent read it if the mandarin duck was moving in i would of thought they would have taken down the facts about the hippo on the wall
. THis link wiull take you to the video where i saw the sign can you fing more info
fast forward to about 2.30 in the video and you will fing it
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
Hi
Visited Melbourne zoo today a saw felix in his exibit swimming around but in the exibit next to him the pool now has water in it and a sing saying something is coming, i tried to search it up but cant find any info
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Which exhibit was this? Left or Right? When I visited a few months ago he was in the left enclosure; he's normally in the right one though.There was a sign up saying the exhibit was under construction to improve Felix's living space. Unless this is changed..I doubt they'll move another species into the other enclosure.
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
Right now the Malayan tapir exabit is ugly not much foliage and pool isn't heated and the exabit is kind of ugly she only has a small green tin shed, on the old map it showed the tapir being next to the hippo but cant find any evidence, melbourne zoo is also promoting that theuy are part of a breeding program for the hippo but it isnt looking like it will haopen ant time soon
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The enclosure is decent. Semganka is pretty much blind, and so the shade is used to keep her from direct sunlight. The enclosure is of a decent size too; the Pygmy Hippo enclosures are much smaller in regards to land space. The pool not being heated also wouldn't be an issue.

They did plan to move Arturo their Brazilian Tapir into the enclosure back in 2018. This never eventuated and he was sent to Adelaide soon after.

They've also had Peccaries and Short Clawed Otters in the left enclosure in the past. The peccaries barely got any land space whatsoever, which I thought was disappointing especially since they never went in the water.
 
Notice to all members:

Can everyone please condense their thoughts to a single post where possible to save blowing up the thread. If the response turns into an essay, fair enough; but we don’t need three sentences said over three posts.

Also be mindful to keep the content relevant to the thread you’re posting in. We have threads to discuss most megafauna in our regions zoos, so unless it directly pertains to hippos, let’s leave it out.

Cheers.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Auckland Zoo’s first hippopotamus was a female named Bella. Bella was born 23/02/1921 at Melbourne Zoo to William and Rosamund. Bella arrived at Auckland Zoo 11/12/1923. Bella was joined by a male named Chaka in 1925.

Chaka and Bella produced six offspring together, most of which died in their first week of life. Their last offspring was a male named Dimazulu, who was born in 1937. Chaka died that same year and Dimazulu became the zoo’s new breeding male.
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Common Hippopotami Breeding at Auckland Zoo (1929-1937)

I wanted to expand on this information, regarding the offspring born to Auckland Zoo’s original pair of Common hippopotami, Chaka and Bella. They produced six offspring between 1929 and 1937, which was reported by the zoo to be a world record in captive breeding.

This article (13/03/1934) summarises the four births (all males) that had taken place to date and details the export of the two surviving calves to Australian zoos:

Four offspring have been born to the pair of adult hippopotami at the Auckland Zoo, and two have been successfully reared. The first born, in September, 1926, was rolled on by its father and was crushed to death. The second (Pondo), which is shortly to be shipped to Perth, was born in January, 1929. The third, born in November, 1930, was neglected by its mother and died. The fourth (Zulu), now in Adelaide, was born on New Year’s Day, 1932. The breeding of hippopotami in captivity is unusual, and great interest been shown in zoological circles in the success achieved by Auckland in rearing two animals.

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/n...&page=9&query=Auckland+zoo+hippo&snippet=true

From further research, I discovered the fifth calf was born 09/11/1935 and died later that month on 23/11/1935. It’s death was attributed to trauma from adverse weather conditions. The gender of the calf wasn’t known at the time of the birth announcement, but it was stated they hoped the calf was female as the fourth previous births had all been males.

Their sixth calf was a male born 11/02/1937. He was named Dimazulu and replaced his sire, Chaka, as the new breeding bull after Chaka died from swallowing a tennis ball 13/10/1937.

Summary of Offspring:

1.0 Unnamed (September 1926) Died 1926
1.0 Pondo (January 1929) Exported 1934
1.0 Unnamed (November 1930) Died 1930
1.0 Zulu (January 1932) Exported 1933
0.0.1 Unknown (November 1935) Died 1935
10 Dimazulu (February 1937) Died 1946
 
Zoofan15 said:
1.0 Pondo (January 1929) Exported 1934
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Pondo must've been 'Newsboy' the male who was sent to the Adelaide Zoo in 1934. He died there in 1977 at what would've been the age of 48! Quite long lived for a hippo back then.

Zoofan15 said:
1.0 Zulu (January 1932) Exported 1933
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Do you have any idea where Zulu was exported to? Interestingly, at the age of one, he was favoured for export over his older brother, Pondo.
 
Jambo said:
Pondo must've been 'Newsboy' the male who was sent to the Adelaide Zoo in 1934. He died there in 1977 at what would've been the age of 48! Quite long lived for a hippo back then.

Do you have any idea where Zulu was exported to? Interestingly, at the age of one, he was favoured for export over his older brother, Pondo.
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Pondo (1929) was renamed Peach Blossum and arrived at Perth Zoo in April 1934. He was the Auckland Zoo’s first hippopotamus calf to survive to adulthood and with breeding being so infrequent in captivity, the zoo were probably keen to retain him until they realised more calves would follow. The exhibit could be divided into two, so he presumably lived with his father while Bella tended to subsequent calves.

Zulu (1932) was renamed Newsboy and arrived at Adelaide Zoo in January 1934 (shipped December 1933). It was noted he replaced a 10 year old hippo that died after swallowing a rubber ball (a common cause of death for this species across the region’s zoos). He died at the age of 45 in 1977, which is indeed a remarkable age for that time period. No rubber ball for him!
 
Zoofan15 said:
Nada’s Line

Nada was imported from Taronga Zoo in 1939 as a mate for Dimazulu:

0.1 Nada
Born at Taronga Zoo 01/01/1937
Arrived at Auckland Zoo 13/03/1939
Died at Auckland Zoo 12/12/1965

Dimazulu and Nada produced two calves:

1.0 En Zed
Born at Auckland Zoo 25/04/1944
Died at Auckland Zoo 09/11/1951
Sire: Dimazulu

1.0 Unknown
Born at Auckland Zoo 01/01/1947
Fate Unknown
Sire: Dimazulu

After Dimazulu died in 1946; Nada was paired with her son, En Zed.

En Zed and Nada produced one calf:

1.0 Khama
Born at Auckland Zoo 02/06/1950
Sent to Calcutta Zoo 01/02/1952
Sire: En Zed
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Auckland Zoo - Additional Information on Nada

Nada was born at Taronga Zoo in February 1937 to Dizzie and Fatima. She was the first hippopotamus calf born in New South Wales. Fatima had come from Cairo Zoo a decade prior; while Dizzie had been noted to have been at the zoo around 20 years.

Nada was originally named Puddles, but renamed Nada the Lily by Auckland Zoo staff, when she was imported in 1939. Dizzie and Fatima subsequently produced a female calf named Sheba 14/11/1938; and a male calf named Bardia in 1941.

The birth of Nada’s first calf was much celebrated as it represented the first member of the third generation of it’s family at the zoo - joining his father (Dimazulu) and grandmother (Bella). The male calf was born on Anzac Day 1944 and named En Zed.

Nada’s second calf was born 17/12/1946 (not 1947) and was a male named Cetawayo. Apparently it was a tradition at Auckland Zoo to name male hippos after Zulu chiefs (En Zed was the exception); and females after H. Rider Haggard heroines. Cetawayo’s fate is unknown and he presumably died young.

In September 1954, a fight broke out between Bella and Nada. Nada was left with several cuts; while Bella suffered a broken vertebrae in her back and subsequently died from her injuries on 03/09/1954. Her carcass was sold to an Auckland pub owner, who displayed her head and hooves above the bar and turned her hide into a rug.
 
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Hippos for Monarto

In 2023, the following Common hippopotamus will be transferred from Werribee Open Range Zoo to Monarto Zoo:

0.1 Brindabella (09/12/1990) Harold x Unknown
0.1 Pansy (18/11/2013) Harold x Brindabella

This will leave Werribee Open Range Zoo with the following:

0.1 Primrose (01/12/1990) Harold x Unknown
0.1 Tulip (01/01/2003) Harold x Primrose
0.1 Lotus (28/03/2008) Harold x Primrose

This transfer will put Monarto Zoo in a stronger position to receive a breeding bull given Brindabella and her daughter are more valuable genetically than Primrose and her daughters and that there’s a greater potential to build a cohesive pods around this mother-daughter dyad.

Breeding from Pansy would require the introduction of Pansy and her calf to one adult female (Brindabella) versus breeding from Tulip or Lotus, who’d each be rejoining two adult cows upon the births of their calves.
 
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