Ostrava Zoo’s Hippos Unite! Discover Them All in One Amazing Enclosure

There are currently three hippos in the Zoological Garden and Botanical Park Ostrava – a six-year-old male, a twelve-year-old female and her daughter The male was brought to Ostrava at the end of November 2024, on the recommendation of the coordinator of the European Ex Situ Programme for Amphibian Hippos, to to replace the original male – the father of the young female, who has since matured and could have young.
The male was separated from the females so farbut the animals have been in constant contact across the divide. The male, who arrived in Ostrava as a very submissive animal, got used to his new environment during this period and also became quite confident. The interactions between the animals have been so positive recently that they have nothing prevented the bonding of a female to a male. Coupling so large and dangerous animals may not be without complications. Serious injuries to some of the animals can be fatal. Although the keepers at the Ostrava Zoo do not interfere with the interactions between the animals, they were prepared to separate the animals in case of a crisis situation. Fortunately, such a scenario did not occur. Minor skirmishes between animals were rather of a ritualized nature within the hierarchy setting in the group. The male even tried to mate both females shortly after the mating itself. Whether they were successful will not be known for eight months…

Hippos in Ostrava live in harmony

Currently, the Cohabitation animals almost harmonious. The breeders hope to build on the successful history of breeding these impressive animals at Ostrava Zoo. The population of hippos is not very large in zoos, moreover, due to the demanding nature of these large thermophilic mammals on technologically costly breeding facilities are dwindling and so are the breeders. There are currently 190 animals bred in 72 institutions in Europe.

Amphibian hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) lives in Africa south of the Sahara. However, its range is now insular. Originally, it was also found along the entire length of the Nile, today only on its upper reaches. According to the IUCN, the number of hippos in African nature is estimated at 115-130 thousand individuals. In the international Red List (IUCN Red List) it is classified as Vulnerable. In the wild, it is threatened mainly by the loss of its natural habitat, which is being converted by humans into agricultural land, and by illegal and unregulated hunting for meat and also teethwhich serve as a substitute for ivory on black market.