Adelaide Zoo is celebrating the arrival of Obi, the Pygmy Hippo calf!
The eleven-month-old male calf departed Melbourne Zoo on Monday morning at 7am and arrived at his new home at Adelaide Zoo on Monday afternoon at 4:15pm.
Obi will today go on public display at Adelaide Zoo for the first time in his new exhibit next door to the Nile hippos.
According to Keepers at Melbourne Zoo, Obi walked straight into his hippo-sized pet pack and the road trip was stress-free.
In March, Melbourne Zoo Keepers started the process of making sure that Obi was relaxed for the journey by placing the travelling crate in his night yard.
Zoos SA Herbivore Team Leader Heather Guy asked for patience while he adjusts to his new habitat and surroundings.
“We will be making sure that Obi receives lots of special attention and enrichment while he settles into his life at Adelaide Zoo,” Heather said.
“Obi will be the only pygmy hippo at Adelaide Zoo, but pygmy hippos are usually solitary in the wild, so this will not be unusual for his species.
“We know that Obi has a lot of fans, particularly in Victoria, so we look forward to welcoming lots of Victorians to Adelaide Zoo to visit him.”
Pygmy Hippos are endangered in the wild due to both loss of habitat and poaching, which makes the regional and international breeding programs for the species critically important for the future.
Obi is the offspring of Petre, who at 23, said goodbye to Adelaide Zoo to be a part of a breeding program at Taronga Zoo. After breeding successfully at Taronga Zoo, Petre then journeyed to Melbourne Zoo in December 2012 to breed with a different male.
For those who remember Janice, the Pygmy Hippo who lived at Adelaide Zoo for 33 years, Obi is her grandson!