Last December, Nikica went on walkabout when her enclosure flooded. She took pictures of her adventure and posted them here.

Momma Hippo Nanda and Baby

From The Times of India, an announcement of the birth of a new hippo.

Indore zoo gets another member

Kundan Pandey, TNN Sep 1, 2011, 08.44am IST

INDORE: Indoreans will get to see more pachyderms-hippopotamus– with the birth of a calf in the Kamla Nehru Zoo in Indore on Wednesday. A 10-year-old hippopotamus, Nanda, gave birth to the calf. The gender of the newborn will be known only after a few days when the mother allows us to go near the calf, said Dr Uttam Yadav, zoo in-charge. With the birth of the hippo, the number of pachyderm in the zoo has gone up to four. The calf which was born at around 9 am has become a centre of attraction for visitors. The child hippo was seen with its mother the entire day.

Learning a lesson from the past, the zoo authorities are extra careful about the security of the newborn, Dr Yadav said, adding that a calf was trampled to death a year ago by Nanda. This time the officials are keeping a constant watch to avoid any such incident. “Though, the hippo was seen crushing the newborn, we could not take away the newborn from the mother,” he recalled.

A tiger, which was brought recently from the Aurangabad zoo, died due to the alleged negligence of the zoo officials within the fortnight of its arrival. Therefore, the zoo officials are leaving nothing to chance. They have enlisted the measures to ensure safety of the newborn.

Dr Yadav said, “Two guards have been deployed there to keep a vigil on the activities of mother and the calf. We are also trying to keep the newborn inside water for longer period.”

Apart from this, the zoo authorities are also taking care of animal’s health, he said, adding, “We are providing them all supplements and nutrients.” About the mother hippo, the zoo official said the animal and a male hippo, Chunnu, were brought from Lucknow five years ago. Apart from the two, the zoo has one more hippo, Vishnu.

Adhama the baby hippo swims and performs for the crowd. Video courtesy of the San Diego Zoo.

Here is the full report from CBS8.com, along with a video of the new baby.

SAN DIEGO – They’re handing out cigars at the San Diego Zoo.

A hippopotamus calf was born in the water around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, following two hours of labor for the mother.

A crowd of about 100 visitors, who gave shouts of “push” as encouragement to 26-year-old Funani, witnessed the birth.

Keith Grupe, from Wisconsin, said he waited with his wife and three children for about an hour to see the birth.

“You saw (Funani) fidgeting and fidgeting and all the sudden there was a baby in the water with her,” he said. “It’s the coolest thing you could ever see.”

The calf’s father, Otis, 36, was brought to the zoo from Los Angeles two years ago.

Otis and Funani didn’t get along at first, but became friendly after a cooling-off period, and zoo officials said mating activity was observed last April.

The typical gestation period for hippos is eight months.

Otis was taken off exhibit recently because the hippo born today was his first child, and it was unknown how he would react. The baby — the sex is not yet known — is Funani’s third.

Tucker in the crate

Read the entire article by Mark Danielson here: Tuckered Out: A Hippo’s Story

A seven-year-old female hippopotamus named Jassi died at the Byculla zoo (also known as Jijamata Udyan) on Wednesday morning. According to the post-mortem report, she died because of a respiratory infection (pneumonia).

“Jassi died because of lungs failure,” said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, a zoo veterinarian. “She was unwell for the past 15 days. She had stopped eating food from November 24. We tried to feed her but her condition worsened due to non-consumption of food.”

Rahul Shevale, chairman of the BMC’s standing committee, pointed out that there is debris lying at various places in the zoo. Jassi’s death may have been caused by such unhygienic conditions. “Zoo authorities should remove the debris immediately,” he said.

The zoo is now left with only three hippopotamuses. Shakti, a five-year-old male hippopotamus, had died in April last year, also due to respiratory failure. The average life span of a hippopotamus is about 40-50 years.

Plagued with a high death rate of hippopotamuses, the zoo has stopped breeding them since 2006. “After the death of Khushi, another young female hippopotamus, we stopped breeding hippopotamuses in the zoo. Despite several attempts, Jassi could not be saved,” added Tripathi.

The doctors gave Jassi antibiotics through her food. But as she refused to eat, the medicines could not be administered. Zoo officials said that the seven-year-old hippo was also given enema to enable her excretion. Enema is a way of cleaning out the large intestine by introducing liquids in the body.

Built in 1861, the Jijamata Udyan is one of the oldest zoos in the country. The 53-acre zoo has been facing the wrath of animal activists for neglecting animals. Shiva, a 30-year-old rhinoceros, died after he failed to find a mate in the zoo. Laxmi, a 20-year-old leopard had also died in the zoo.

Bittu Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary Asia magazine, said, “The unfortunate hippo was large and so his death did not escape our attention. No one knows how many smaller animals die at Jijamata Udyan. The zoo is one of the worst-run in the world. It should have long ago been converted into a nature interpretation centre and botanical garden.”

Source: “Lungs failure kills hippo at Byculla zoo, only three left” – DNAIndia.com, Saturday, Dec 4, 2010, By Priyanka Sharma & Pandurang Mhaske

They also have been trying to observe how the little hippo pees which can help them determine his sex. The birth was a surprise as staffers didn’t even know that Helvetia was pregnant. This is the third baby for Helvetia and Wilhelm, proving that although the zoo staff may not be witnessing the act of hippo love, the hippos certainly are doing it.

New Baby Hippo at Basel Zoo

New Baby at Basel Zoo

New Baby at Basel Zoo

Once the hippo’s gender is discovered, the zookeeper will name the baby, most likely choosing a Swahili word.

Mama and Papa want to name their daughter “Pudgekins” but zoo officials have decided to ignore their wishes and ask the public to name the baby in a contest this week. The winner will view the baby and her parents in a private, behind-the-scenes meeting, although Kelsey and Pogo have not promised to be polite.

Zoo Miami Baby Hippo

From the CBS4 website:

“We are extremely excited about this birth because this is a very rare animal in the wild and it has been over 20 years since we have had a pygmy hippo born at the zoo,” said Ron Magill, communications and media director. “It is testimony that the zoo is doing all of the right things in order to make this normally shy animal comfortable enough to reproduce successfully and to be a great mother.”

Zoo officials said the baby will remain off exhibit with its mother for the next several days to allow the mother and baby to bond and ensure the infant develops a strong foundation without extra external stress. Magill said after they determine she is stable she will be on exhibit.

Rudolph the French Hippo

The 37-year-old Rudolph was intended to make the move with long-time Polish girlfriend, Pelagie, but she took one look at the sparsely furnished military plane and refused to board it. So Pelagie was shipped to a zoo in Hanover, Germany, where she has been promised lodgings with lots of orange, her favorite color. The French military has refused to comment on their failure to uproot one little hippo.

Rudolph was a bit stressed out by his trip, especially by all the guns he saw on board the military plane, as he is a gentle soul and abhors violence. Upon arriving, he immediately took refuge under the water and has refused to come out.

Algerian zoo officials hope that Rudolph will pop up soon as the Algerian public is clamoring to see him. Not to mention the $50,000 they spent to move him to his new home.