Hippo

Hippos, hippos, hooray! Dallas Zoo opens new $14 million exhibit

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Dallas Zoo
Adhama swims in the waterhole

Adhama swims in the waterhole in the new Simmons Hippo Outpost

It’s finally ready! Our $14 million, 2.1-acre Simmons Hippo Outpost, an immersive African waterhole habitat that includes an underwater viewing area, will open on Friday, April 28.

An official ribbon-cutting at 10:30 a.m. will kick off the three-day, Simmons Hippos Outpost Opening Weekend, featuring special activities and giveaways.

“This habitat has exceeded our highest hopes,” said Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo’s president and CEO. “We’re confident that being face-to-face with a submerged, 3,000-pound hippo will be a highlight for our guests. Even more importantly, this new experience will help our community better understand the critical need for conservation of all species and wild spaces.”

“The Dallas Zoo has once again set the standard for today’s accredited zoological parks,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said. “This project is the latest example of how successful public-private partnerships can be, especially when supported by our city’s generous philanthropists. The new Simmons Hippo Outpost brings yet another level of excellence to this world-class facility just three miles from downtown.”

Boipelo explores underwater at the new viewing window

Boipelo explores underwater at the viewing window

Special Simmons Hippo Outpost Opening Weekend events include:

  • The first 500 guests in the zoo each day (Friday-Sunday) will receive a squishy hippo toy
  • Unveiling of a hippo-themed “B-G” statue, part of the popular series from VisitDallas
  • #DallasZooHippos photo opportunities with a life-sized ceramic hippo and a costumed hippo
  • An okapi keeper chat at 2:15 p.m. and hippo keeper chats at 11:15 a.m. 2:30 p.m. every day.
  • Create hippo-related crafts at the Highland Hippo Hut
  • Take home special Simmons Hippo Outpost trading cards

Reunion Tower also will light up the Dallas skyline Friday at dusk with a special light show celebrating the hippo habitat opening.

The new habitat, home to Adhama (uh-DAHM-a) and Boipelo (BOY-pa-lo), includes a 24-foot by 8-foot viewing window that brings guests eye-to-nostril with the Nile hippos as they explore their 120,000-gallon waterhole. Such close contact will help us teach millions of guests about conservation efforts on behalf of the world’s third-largest land mammal.

The Simmons Hippo Outpost will be our first major exhibit since the award-winning Giants of the Savanna opened in 2010.

“This remarkable exhibit is a perfect complement to the Giants of the Savanna, a game-changing habitat that helped kick off the ongoing renaissance here at the Dallas Zoo,” Hudson said. “More than a million guests a year visit us to learn about animals and conservation efforts to protect them, and bringing hippos back has been one of their most consistent requests.”

The surprisingly agile, super-sized “river horses” can be observed from multiple vantage points in the exhibit. An upper-level habitat provides an enhanced home for our world-renowned okapi herd. The new habitats are visible from the elevated Wilds of Africa Adventure Safari monorail, and red river hogs will also join the habitat in time.

Adhama walks on the shore

This habitat opening marks the return of okapi, an endangered species that we have worked with for more than a half century. Our five okapi, often called “forest giraffes” in their native Congo, have been off exhibit during construction. The okapi will return with easier visibility in two habitats, plus a special encounter area where guests can meet the stunning animals up-close during the daily 2:15 p.m. keeper chat.

In our 50-year history of caring for okapi, the animal team has welcomed 36 calves. With one of the most successful okapi breeding records of any zoo, our staff have continuously contributed to research, promoting improved husbandry practices for this charismatic species. About 75 percent of all okapi in the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Okapi Species Survival Plan (SSP) are related to our offspring.

We have also played a key role in okapi conservation in the Dominican Republic of Congo in Africa by helping fund the Okapi Conservation Project. Now, our guests can get closer than ever before to this majestic, endangered species.

The Simmons Hippo Outpost campaign was funded solely with private donations, beginning with a $5 million grant from the Harold Simmons Foundation launching the project. Additional donations included:

  • Highland Capital Management LP, $1 million: This donation built the 4,485-square-foot Highland Hippo Hut for special educational displays and private events.
  • Diane and Hal Brierley, $1 million: The longtime philanthropists and Dallas Zoo supporters built the Hippo Encounter underwater viewing area, where zookeeper talks also will be held.
  • Eugene McDermott Foundation, $800,000: Longtime supporters of the Dallas Zoo.
  • A public personalized brick campaign, which honors our community supporters as a permanent part of the exhibit.
Categories: Conservation, Exhibits and Experiences, Hippo, Mammals, Okapi, Simmons Hippo Outpost | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

THEY’RE HERE! Dallas Zoo welcomes hippos back for first time in 16 years

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Dallas Zoo

 

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Male Adhama (left) and female Boipelo (right) play hard in their pools. (Photos courtesy of L.A. Zoo and ABQ BioPark)

The Dallas Zoo welcomed a very special delivery this week: two super-sized Nile hippopotamuses arrived Tuesday and Wednesday from Albuquerque, N.M., and Los Angeles. Adhama and Boipelo are now sharing the spacious barn and pools in our new $14 million Simmons Hippo Outpost, set to open next month.

“The moves were smooth and uneventful, and our new residents have settled in nicely into their new home,” said Harrison Edell, vice president of Animal Operations and Welfare at the Dallas Zoo.

Six-year-old male Adhama arrived Tuesday morning from the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The 3,722-pound hippo was loaded safely into a massive custom travel crate on an 18-wheeler Monday for the 23-hour drive. The tandem driver team drove straight through, stopping often to feed, water, and spray water on the giant amphibious animal.

Once Adhama’s travel crate was lifted off the truck and taken to the spacious new hippo barn, he wandered right out and into a sand-filled outdoor yard. Keepers met him with crisp fresh romaine lettuce and other treats. The big guy inspected every inch of the barn, room by room, before taking a snuffling drink from one of the indoor pools. Soon after, he slipped into his private pool. (The amphibious animals often choose to spend up to 16 hours a day in water.)

The driver team then hit the road again, this time to Albuquerque, N.M. At the Albuquerque Biological Park, zookeepers carefully repeated the loading process with 10-year-old, 2,395-pound female Boipelo, and the drivers took off once more for Dallas. Late Wednesday night, less than 36 hours after Adhama arrived, Boipelo made her grand entrance.

After stepping out of her travel crate, she cautiously made a few rounds of the outdoor yard, then entered the night quarters, nabbed a few bites of romaine lettuce, and immediately plunged into her pool.

Adhama was instantly interested in his new mate, leaving his pool and sniffing the air intently. The pair have been matched on a breeding recommendation through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP).

“Over the next 30 days while the hippos are in quarantine, our keepers, veterinary staff and nutritionists will keep a close eye on them to ensure they continue to do well,” Edell said. “For now they’re living in separate halves of the new barn, but because of its open design, they’ve already ‘met’ each other through the fences and are getting along well.”

The 2.1-acre Simmons Hippo Outpost is an immersive African waterhole habitat that includes a 24-foot by 8-foot underwater viewing area, which will allow zookeepers to teach guests about conservation efforts to help protect the world’s third-largest land mammal.

Papa, who passed away in 2001 at age of 53, was the last hippo to live at the zoo until now. At the time, Papa was the oldest Nile hippo being cared for in a U.S. zoo.

Categories: Hippo, Simmons Hippo Outpost | Tags: , | 6 Comments

Hippo, hippo, hurray! Meet Adhama and Boipelo, our first hippos in 16 years

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Lydia

Texas may be known for horses and cowboys, but a couple of new “river horses” that soon will call the Dallas Zoo home won’t be seeing any saddles or lassos.

Adhama eats some greens at the L.A. Zoo./Courtesy L.A. Zoo

Adhama eats some greens at the L.A. Zoo./Courtesy L.A. Zoo

That’s because they’re hippopotamuses!

Adhama, a 6-year-old male from the Los Angeles Zoo, and Boipelo, a 10-year-old female hailing from the Albuquerque Biological Park, will be the first hippos at the Zoo in more than 16 years.

Through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP), these two Nile hippos are being paired on a breeding recommendation in hopes that one day they’ll start their own family.

They’ll share shiny, new state-of-the-art digs here in Dallas. Set to open late April, the Dallas Zoo’s $14 million, 2.1-acre Simmons Hippo Outpost will be an immersive African waterhole habitat, including an underwater viewing window for visitors.

So let us introduce our newest residents:

Born Jan. 26, 2011, at the San Diego Zoo, Adhama moved to the L.A. Zoo in 2013, where he met female companion Mara. The duo welcomed their daughter Rosie on Halloween 2014.

Rita Huang, assistant supervisor of the Dallas Zoo’s Inner Wilds of Africa, recently traveled to Los Angeles, where she got to meet the 3,722-pound Adhama and learn about his personality, training behaviors, likes/dislikes, if he’s a diehard L.A. Dodgers fan or willing to convert to the Texas Rangers, and much more.

“Adhama is a sweet boy,” Huang said. “He’s very curious, likes to climb, and enjoys a nice face-rub from his keepers. He also loves to sleep under the sun, and is very particular about the temperature of his water.”

Fascinating fact: Adhama has three half-sisters, all with the same mom but different dads. Those females are the great-granddaughters of the Dallas Zoo’s former hippos, Mama and Papa! Mama passed away in 1984, and Papa died in 2001 at age 53. At the time, Papa was the oldest Nile hippo being cared for in a U.S. zoo. And he was the last hippo to live at the Dallas Zoo, until now.

Boipelo bites down on an enrichment item at the Albuquerque Biological Park./Courtesy of ABQ BioPark

Boipelo bites down on an enrichment item at the Albuquerque Biological Park./Courtesy of ABQ BioPark

Born Aug. 17, 2006, Boipelo lives with her mom, dad and younger brother at the ABQ BioPark.

“This 2,395-pound girl is extremely playful,” Huang said. “She enjoys dragging logs around her habitat and pushing her ball around. She’s also very particular about her enrichment items. In the morning, keepers say they’ll come in to find that she’s placed all her objects back in the same spot in the barn.”

These super-social animals will meet within days after arriving in Dallas.

Welcome the duo to Texas and show ’em your favorite local spots. Print out and color this hippo coloring sheet, and snap a picture with your “flat hippo” at your beloved spots throughout DFW. Tag your “flat hippo” photos on social media with the hashtag #DallasZooHippos and we’ll pick a few of our favorite photos to feature!

Categories: Africa, Hippo, Mammals, Simmons Hippo Outpost | 2 Comments

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