In the News...
July 2005

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This month's stories:

• Indiana Hippo Celebrates 54th Birthday
• Dwindling Fish Catch Linked to Hippo Killings

Indiana Hippo Celebrates 54th Brithday

Donna, a 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) hippo living at the Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden in Indiana celebrated her 54th birthday on Saturday, 16 July. Zoo keeper John W. Stuteville said Donna is considered one of the world's oldest living Nile hippos. She has already outlived her mate and all eight of their offspring. Donna suffers from arthritis, which is common in many large mammals both in captivity and the wild.  

Stuteville attributes Donna's longevity to the care she has received at the zoo and to her surroundings, including inclines she must climb out of her enclosure's pools - a design that keeps her active. Donna's diverse diet includes oranges, a tomato, a sweet potato, an apple and two bananas.  

Hippos in the wild typically live 30 to 40 years. The oldest on record lived in Germany to the age of 61 years 4 months.

Sources: Associated Press via thestate.com - 18 July 2005
04-08-05

Dwindling Fish Catch Linked to Hippo Killings

Senior Ugandan fisheries officer Andrew Alio, has advised the continued killing of hippos is causing a reduction in natural fish food known as planktons and the consequent reduced catch by fishermen. Typical hippo feeding habits involve leaving the water at night to graze. By morning, they return to the water where they defecate and, consequentially, spread nutrients necessary for the growth of phytoplanktons.

For areas where hippos excrete and planktons are in plenty, herbivorous and omnivorous fish like tilapia multiply their numbers. Such areas also attract carnivorous fish like Nile perch and African catfish that feed non-carnivals.

Alio also noted the role of the flow of rain water in spreading nutrients. "The water carries with it dust and farmland manure, which undergo biological process, including decomposition, the result of which is nutrients for fish. Rainwater, however, becomes dangerous when it carries industrial wastes and fertiliser residues from farmlands, which pollute the water," Alio says.

Sources: Birungi, H. of New Vision (of Uganda - online) - 18 July 2005
04-08-05