Hyderabad zoo marks World Hippo Day with special feed
HYDERABAD: As part of wildlife education and public awareness, World Hippo Day was celebrated at Nehru Zoological Park on February 15. An awareness programme was organised at the hippopotamus enclosure to educate visitors about the species and its ecological significance.
To mark the occasion, zoo staff prepared four special feed cakes, each weighing around 5kg. The cakes were made with wheat bran, pellets, mash feed, jaggery, wheat roti, vegetables such as cucumber, carrot, green garbanzo beans, and fruits including banana, apple, sapota, guava, watermelon, musk melon and pineapple. The preparation was supervised by J Manjula, Feed Store Officer and in-charge of the zoo feed store.
The zoo, which houses four hippopotamuses Parvathi, Rajitha, Gajini and Rama served the cakes to all of them during the celebration.
‘Hippos vital to ecological balance’
Addressing visitors, Deputy Curator J Muralidhar said hippopotamuses play an important role in maintaining ecological balance. “Hippos are found in sub-Saharan Africa and are the third-largest land mammals after elephants and rhinoceroses,” he said.
He explained that males, called bulls, weigh up to 2,000kg while females, called cows, weigh up to 1,500kg. They live in groups known as herds, led by a dominant male. In captivity, they live for 45–50 years. Being semi-aquatic herbivores, hippos spend much of their time in water and graze at night, consuming nearly 100kg of feed daily.
Oldest hippo thriving at Hyderabad zoo
Muralidhar noted that Nehru Zoological Park houses one of India’s oldest captive hippopotamuses Parvathi, a 52-year-old female which remains active and in good health.
Other officials present included Deputy Range Officer Karunakar, Public Relations Officer H M Hanifulla, Zoo Education Officer Ch Deepak Tarun, and Animal Keeper S Devender.
