ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Hippo Death

Doesnt the Hippo enclosure have 2 Common Hippo Paddocks?
Im pretty sure it has then it would be fine for 3 Adult Hippos maybe only let Lola breed when shes mature in a few years time.They've coped with 3 individuals in the past, since up to when old Ben died.
The Hippo house it think is pretty good with indoor pool but a tad on the small side.
Sad news about Bruno he was so peaceful for his size :)
 
zebedee101 said:
not sure which Whipsnade thread to put it on, but Bruno the male giraffe never recovered from an anaesthetic last week while under going routine medical procedures.
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another blow for their Reticulated Giraffe group. That leaves only the single female and one or two male offspring.:(
 
ashley-h said:
I think the indoor area would be fine for three, just not for three adults and offspring. However if they have an older house as well then I think they'd be ok to get a bull to mate the two current females. And yes, they do still have Pygmy hippos, I think they're a new pair.
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i think the modern house connects with the original older building at the back. But one of the inside display areas is designed for Pygmy Hippos- I think a common hippo would have difficulty using the small pool on that side. Though there are two paddocks for common hippo, they have never kept a male and two breeding females - only a pair plus their latest offspring which was later sent off somewhere else. 'Lola' seems the exception because they lost her father.
 
Yes, there are pygmy hippos in one side, but the pool's about the same size. The problem would probably be in the size of the land area.
 
Pertinax wrote the outside is fine, it is the inside that is smallish for common hippo. As I understand it the entire Pachyderm House got done over a few years back to accomodate both the pygmy (them being critically endangered) and common hippos (them being not so rare ... well at the time not endangered, but an educational exhibit animal nonetheless and which the general public love to see).

Do I stand corrected that the indoor stalls for common hippo are yet to be brought up to minimum standards? Or am I missing the point here? :)
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Do I stand corrected that the indoor stalls for common hippo are yet to be brought up to minimum standards? Or am I missing the point here? :)
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its like this;

Historically Whipsnade had two sloping outdoor paddocks(one large, one small) with small Lakes for their Common Hippos. Indoor accomodation was an antiquated shed-like building at the top of the larger paddock but accessible from both yards adjacent to it. No public access in this building so I have never seen inside it.

Quite recently they added a small modern house to allow public viewing when the animals are indoors/during winter period. This has two small display areas(land area and small pool) designed specifically side by side; one for Common and one for Pygmy Hippo. These appear to connect with the original old indoor quarters which still used behind them. This new building is of very modern design but also very small.:(
 
ashley-h said:
Yes, there are pygmy hippos in one side, but the pool's about the same size. The problem would probably be in the size of the land area.
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I dont think the pool is quite as large and definately not as deep for the pygmys, I dont think it would be deep enough for a common hippo and the filteration is also an issue. The original hippo pool didnt have the hotwire round the perimeter. When they were testing the enclosure before the public opening, Nigna popped her teeth over the pool rim and started hoisting herslef out on the public gallery side, a hot wire was added pretty sharpish, but was difficult as aquatics and hotwires dont mix well.
 
zebedee101 said:
I dont think the pool is quite as large and definately not as deep for the pygmys, I dont think it would be deep enough for a common hippo and the filteration is also an issue..
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You are right that the one side was obviously purpose built for Pygmy Hippo. It would have to be redesigned with a bigger pool area and access ramp in order to accomodate Common Hippos.
 
Pertinax said:
You are right that the one side was obviously purpose built for Pygmy Hippo. It would have to be redesigned with a bigger pool area and access ramp in order to accomodate Common Hippos.
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The offshow area in the house for the pygmys is totally seperate to the common area (to the left of the exhibit as you look at the ponds) where as the hippo off exhibit area is behind. This would not be big enough or have the required access for a common hippo without major architectural changes. There definately were three common hippo stalls in the new building. It was policy only to breed when the third space was opened up, so breeding was put on hold for a long time as they werent able to place the male offspring that was born to Ben and Nigna whose name escapes me at this precise moment.
 
zebedee101 said:
It was policy only to breed when the third space was opened up, so breeding was put on hold for a long time as they werent able to place the male offspring that was born to Ben and Nigna whose name escapes me at this precise moment.
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I think this would have been BILL (born 25.03.1993).
 
Pertinax said:
Do you have a full breeding record for Ben & Nigna?
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HAROLD was born 01.11.1965 at Chester (Generino x Myra). He moved to Chessington on 03.12.1968 where his name was changed to BEN.

NIGNA was born 27.08.1978 at Madrid. She arrived at Chessington on 13.05.1987

The pair produced three calves at Chessington:
Female born 15.01.1988 - drowned on day of birth
Male born 22.09.1988 - died on day of birth
Female KARA born 20.08.1989 - survived

NIGNA and KARA moved to Whipsnade on 05.12.1991 and BEN followed on 03.01.1992.

KARA moved to Port St. Pere (a French Safari Park) 22.04.1992

BEN and NIGNA went on to produce three more calves at Whipsnade:
Male BILL born 25.03.1993 - moved to Emmen in 1999
Female ETOSHA born 2000 moved to Belgium (Monde Sauvage?) in 2004
Female LOLA born 27.12.2003 - still at Whipsnade

BEN died in 2008 leaving NIGNA and LOLA at Whipsnade.
 
Thats great, Thanks Robmv very interesting,
Its a shame Hippos arent so common now, they are very difficult and expensive to keep which puts alot of zoos off.
I would be great for Whipsnade to continue breeding with a new male when Lola matures :)
 
Thankyou RobMV. Very interesting. They have had less calves at Whipsnade than I thought, but I didn't know they were both at Chessington (not just Ben) or that they had bred there also.
 
So when chessington developed the old hippo enclosure into some of the current bird garden, did the female join the male in the concrete yard the other side of the revamped elephant house? This is the last enclosure I remember seeing hippo in at Chessington.

With West Mids and Flamingoland, I would say that the Common hippo population in the UK is probably more than during the 80s.
 
Even still, there are only four collections in the UK keeping the species now, two breeding. A shame considering it's iconic, impressive and educational value.
 
johnstoni said:
So when chessington developed the old hippo enclosure into some of the current bird garden, did the female join the male in the concrete yard the other side of the revamped elephant house?
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Spot on. The new enclosure (by the elephants) was built in 1987 when Nigna arrived as a mate for Ben. The old enclosure was utilised in the new bird garden which was built a couple of years later.
 
I agree with you on that Marwell Dalek, But Hippos are rather expensive and quite dangerous to keep. So its not the choice some zoos with no experiance are going to take.
They are very impressive animals i agree :)
 
Marwell Dalek said:
Even still, there are only four collections in the UK keeping the species now, two breeding.
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I think the only place potentially 'breeding' i.e. having a fertile bull is Dublin.

Whipsnade have no male. Flamingoland either no male or a castrated one.

West Midlands no mature male but they may have a male calf?
 
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