Werribee Open Range Zoo Hippo hurray at Werribee Zoo

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Zoo_Boy

Well-Known Member
Hippo hurray at Werribee Zoo
September 11, 2006 12:00am


WHO'S a hungry, hungry hippo then?

Not these two fat ladies, who are now enjoying a luxurious life in their new home at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
The Kubu River Hippos Experience features pools, sandy beaches and grassy meadows for the zoo's four hippos.

Primrose and Tulip were the first to check out their surrounds, opened by Environment Minister John Thwaites yesterday. Visitors can view the hippos from a boardwalk and the barge Kubu Queen.

Mr Thwaites said the exhibit gave people a taste of Africa just minutes from the city.

Net link: Three Great Zoos - Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary and Werribee Open Range Zoo

Hippo hurray at Werribee Zoo | Herald Sun
New enclosure benefits Werribee's hippos, visitors. 10/09/2006. ABC News Online

Im so excited i will be seeing this exhibit in a few weeks YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
When I was at Werribee a couple of years ago you could only see the hippos from the bus, and the day we were there it bucketed down with rain while we were over that side of the park (fortunately it cleared up over on the other side near the rhinos/giraffe/buffalo, etc).

It will be great to be able to walk near the hippos and observe them at your own pace.
 
they were notoriously hard to spot in their old exhibit (consisting of two large dams) since they spent almost all the time completely submerged. that said, i have been fortunate enough to spot them grazing on the banks on several occasions.

the new exhibit not only places them in context of an african theme (before they where located away from the other animals behind the kangaroos!) but also offers guests another experience to appreciate up-close and at their own pace.

waterbuck, kudu, egyptian geese and others will now also be sharing the space with the hippo, making for a even more enriched exhibit.

of intrest to me is how effective the natural filtration system is at keeping the water clear.....
 
and did yas no the submerged barge they talk about, is underwater veiwng, as well as along boardwalk there are periscopes that allow u to view, and hear under water
 
Common(nile)Hippos are a great exhibit if done properly. We have all too few of them in UK zoos,:( - only about three places- Whipsnade, West Midlands(a safari park) and one other, Flamingo Park, exhibit them (plus Dublin in Ireland). Only the Safari Park has a big group though. Whipsnade never have more than one pair plus their latest calf- their male BEN (born at Chester Zoo) is the oldest hippo in UK.
 
I think it is a shame that West Midland's large herd aren't in a high-profile exhibit. They are kind of hidden away behind the rides and most people who i've spoken to, have never seen the hippos at WMSP.

They have a basic barn, a muddy "beach" and then in fairness, a quite large lake. I'd imagine that one of the more established parks could exhibit these so much better though.
 
I'll have a look on the Longleat website- they'll be mentioned if they still have them.

Regarding West Midlands Hippos- I agree 100%- from photos I've seen of their exhibit its almost like they aren't interested in them much. This group would make a great exhibit somewhere. They lost their adult bull sometime ago and have only one male offspring, but I don't think they want them to breed anymore anyway...:(
 
iv'e got this theory that you can make a star attraction of virtually any animal - it's just all about presentation.

werribee's hippos were a bit of a testament to this theory. they were a massive no show. visiting them at the zoos was reminiscent of scenes in "jurassic park" when they drive through the first couple of exhibits and are told about these wonderful animals over the loudspeaker that you can't see.

of course all thats changed now and the hippos are by far the best exhibit at werribee.

so its a shame when you hear about zoos that have wonderful animals and do nothing withe them. of course its about money, but a good deal is just about imagination and creativity too, something not all zoo-owners/directors have.
 
I agree with you there, Patrick. However I feel that the West Midlands Safari Park will not be renovating the hippo lake anytime in the near future. They seem more pre-occupied with the White Lions and Tigers.

There is a picture of the hippo lake somewhere in the gallery which shows how basic it really is.
 
Well i've only ever seen the hippos at whipsnade and west midlands, but i believe they allow them outdoors. However, I may be wrong on this as i tend to avoid these parks during the winter months.
 
ive been to whipsnade in the autumn, obviously it wasnt that cold then but from what i could see the hippos had the choice of inside/outside via a series of tunnels under the visotr pathways that led into the outside lake area.
western plains zoo in dubbo, australia, has maintained the common hippos for decades now, quite succesfully, and it does drop below freezing fairly regularly out that way in the winter. they make do without any indoor swimming pools, i guess hippos are kind of hardy like that?
 
I've been to Whipsnade in cold weather in the past and the Hippos were locked away in the miserable old sheds they used to live in(made of railway sleepers!)

Nowadays at Whipsnade they have quite a nice little modern House with heated pools and a viewing area for the public, so I guess they can be still on show without having to go outside.

The Flamingo Park ones(in Yorkshire, and not a safari park) live mostly inside during the winter as that place is closed for the winter.
 
a zoo in canada (think it was toronto) recently has been in all kinds of trouble over the treatment of their hippos. one had to be euthanised when it slipped on its frozen pool. you wonder, what on earth was an aquatic species like a hippo, which is a warm temperate animal at best being put outside in the snow with a frozen pool. another was kept in an unheated wooden barn for over a year i think and that caused a stirr too (may have been the same zoo again) and teh zoo was taken to court.

but i think your right though glyn. they seem like pretty hardy animals. i imagine it can get pretty cold in southern africa overnight, and whilst water always maintains a warmer temperature overnight if its warm during the day, hippo spend nights out of the water.

werribee must get pretty cold in winter, (though probably not as cold as dubbo due to it not being as far inland) but their new facilities have pretty decent barns attached i think.
 
There has been at least one (unsuccessful) attempt in the Uk at castrating a male Hippo to prevent more calves- which are difficult to place elsewhere- being produced. But its a very difficult thing to do apparently and he died.

I fear the West Midland group and those at Flamingo Park probably spend an awful lot of time in basic indoor housing in the winter when the parks are closed. I believe these indoor enclosures do at least have warm pools, I think they'd have too.
 
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