Jordan-Jaguar97
Well-Known Member
Thanks Pertinax well up here is ok but down London is worse so depends what the weather's like
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade Updates
- Thread starter ajmcwhipsnade
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Jordan-Jaguar97
Well-Known Member
Visiting tomorrow is there any requests may not be able to post pictures for a few weeks as my laptop is currently broke?
DNS means, "did not survive".
Hippos seem to produce an enormous number of failed births where the calves die on the first day or are still born. Both qualify as 'DNS'.
Through his life the old male 'Henry' at Whipsnade fathered something like 24 calves to two females(one being his daughter) but about 14 of them were DNS. Look at any Hippo studbook and you'll see this pattern repeated in almost every zoo that breed Hippo.
Dublin- the female 'Heidi' has already had at least one(DNS) calf by the old male Henri(not the same animal as Whipsnade male above)
Through his life the old male 'Henry' at Whipsnade fathered something like 24 calves to two females(one being his daughter) but about 14 of them were DNS. Look at any Hippo studbook and you'll see this pattern repeated in almost every zoo that breed Hippo.
Dublin- the female 'Heidi' has already had at least one(DNS) calf by the old male Henri(not the same animal as Whipsnade male above)
Andy DC
Active Member
Thanks for the info, good to know. I spoke to a keeper from Dublin who said they hope to mate Heidi with Henri at the zoo and hope for a calf later this year or early next. Up until recently she was on a contraceptive pill to prevent this.
I wondered why they had split up Hoovie and Heidi, as she was brought in to be with him originally, but he said that Hoovie was recomended more by the studbook to go to Whipsnade and also Henri and Heidi also match up well in the records for future calves, so it was a win - win situation, as Henri was always seperated from Hoovie and Hedi when they were all there, normally in a smaller outside area leading into the house (where a pool was avaiable fro him). At least now he has company and a mate, and Hoovie has a new family too!
I wondered why they had split up Hoovie and Heidi, as she was brought in to be with him originally, but he said that Hoovie was recomended more by the studbook to go to Whipsnade and also Henri and Heidi also match up well in the records for future calves, so it was a win - win situation, as Henri was always seperated from Hoovie and Hedi when they were all there, normally in a smaller outside area leading into the house (where a pool was avaiable fro him). At least now he has company and a mate, and Hoovie has a new family too!
The move of one male Hippo from Dublin to Whipsnade has worked out well for all concerned. Being social animals its far better not to have one living on its own. Good to hear that Dublin hope to breed from their remaining pair again too.
You may be aware that Hoovie is actually a descendant of a previous longstanding pair at Whipsnade- Henry & Belinda, which I mentioned above. Hoovie's mother (the one that swallowed the tennis ball) was born at Whipsnade, a daughter of Henry with his own daughter. But I doubt that came into the equation as to which male was sent there.
Andy DC
Active Member
Yes your history was very interesting, it was terrible what happened to Linda. I was in the zoo the day it happened, the public outcry of affection for Hoovie was immense, glad to see he has a nice new home. I have seen pictures of the enclosure and it looks to be bigger with a much bigger pool than Dublin.
A quick question Pertinax, regarding your hippo listing. Why have you seemingly put 1 animal under 2 names????
Not sure what you mean here?
I think this is very interesting and well done for Whipsnade for breeding so many hippos in their history. But I can't quite understand what you mean with the bold names?
Oh, right, see what you mean now..
Its where the animal has had more than one name through its life. They sometimes get changed if the animal moves or gets a nickname given it by keepers. The previous name is usually shown on the studbook listing also to avoid any doubt about what individual it is.
Another example here is the old male Hippo at Dublin- Tom/Henri- he's now called Henri.
Its where the animal has had more than one name through its life. They sometimes get changed if the animal moves or gets a nickname given it by keepers. The previous name is usually shown on the studbook listing also to avoid any doubt about what individual it is.
Another example here is the old male Hippo at Dublin- Tom/Henri- he's now called Henri.
Listed with both names on the Prague World Hippo List. I imagine he started out as 'Hoover' before it got shortened. 'Heidi' was also apparently called 'Yala' previously so listed as Yala/Heidi. Quite a few Hippos seem to have these double names.
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Thanks for answering. I think this is strange I hadn't actually realised animals had more than one name. But then again most people have more than one name. I bet if they put us all in a stud book they'd list our zoo chat name along with our real names.Oh, right, see what you mean now..
Its where the animal has had more than one name through its life. They sometimes get changed if the animal moves or gets a nickname given it by keepers. The previous name is usually shown on the studbook listing also to avoid any doubt about what individual it is.
Another example here is the old male Hippo at Dublin- Tom/Henri- he's now called Henri.
There is another reason I've heard of for some species like Apes, where the staff have a name they use to call the animal indoors or for food. The animal has a different public name so that it doesn't respond to all and sundry and get confused by people calling its name needlessly- at least that's an explanation I've heard(yes, I'm confused too). But I don't think it applies to many.