Czech zoo celebrates birth of endangered pygmy hippopotamus

Safari Park Dvůr Králové welcomed the hippo in late February, the second hippo born at the zoo in the past six months.

ČTK

Written by ČTK Published on 06.03.2021 09:34:00 (updated on 06.03.2021) Reading time: 1 minute

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Newborn hippo via Simona Jiřičková / Safari Park Dvůr Králové
Newborn hippo via Simona Jiřičková / Safari Park Dvůr Králové

A male pygmy hippopotamus was born at Safari Park Dvůr Králové in late February, park zoologist Jiří Hrubý has announced.

The pygmy hippopotamus is an endangered species, with less than 3,000 estimated remaining in the wild.

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It's the second birth of a pygmy hippo at Dvůr Králové in the past six months, with the first coming in October.

"We have started breeding pygmy hippos again after 15 years," Hrubý said.

"Breeding stagnated in Europe and it was difficult to form couples. The problem largely resulted from a shortage of males," Hrubý said.

The birth of a second male in less than six months is a great success, as only 12 pygmy hippos were born in captivity in the world over the past year, he added.

Safari Park Dvůr Králové acquired its first pygmy hippo in 1972. Twenty of them have been born there since. The first one, a male named Viktor, was born in 1978.

The zoo now has six pygmy hippos, three females and three males including the new arrival.

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The father of both young males is Wamburuhtuh, dubbed Valda, who arrived in Dvůr Králové from Rotterdam early last year.

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