Vietexplorer2024

For the first time ever, a baby hippopotamus has been born naturally at the Hanoi Zoo, located in the heart of Vietnam’s capital city. Nguyen Cong Nghiep, Deputy Director of Hanoi Zoo in Ba Dinh District, shared that the pregnant mother hippo was a gift from Dai Nam Wonderland in Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province. She arrived at the Hanoi Zoo in December 2023 and, after receiving dedicated care for about eight months, gave birth to a healthy male calf on July 23, 2024. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other even-toed ungulates, hippos are actually more closely related to cetaceans such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. This surprising fact is due to their evolutionary history, as they diverged from cetaceans around 55 million years ago. Hippopotamuses are the third-largest land mammals in the world by mass, surpassed only by elephants and rhinos. These semi-aquatic creatures can reach impressive sizes, with adult males weighing up to 1,500 kilograms and females ...