Last week Kani the hippo calf turned one. Born on April 15, 2020, back when the zoo was temporarily closed due to COVID-19, Kani delighted visitors after the zoo reopened and brought lots of smiles to the faces of guests as they explored the zoo after lockdown.
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Kani is now estimated to be approximately 300 kilograms and is eating mostly solids, only drinking from mum on the odd occasion.
"Hippo mothers generally wean their young around the age of one year old, so we will likely start seeing Kani move to solid food only from now on," keeper Simone Low said.
Kani is a very smart hippo, he is already learning commands from his keepers but is described as having a very cheeky personality.
"Kani loves to create trouble with his sisters and annoy his dad and aunty through the fence.
"He is very adventurous and inquisitive and likes to explore new areas and check out anything different."
"Kani is also very independent and can often be seen wandering around the paddock or in the water away from mum," she said.
Over the past year Kani has grown in size dramatically and met all his milestones to date. He is progressing just as a young male hippo should.
At this stage Kani has a lot of growing left to do, he is still a long way from being fully grown and ready to leave mum's side.
Kani will continue to share a paddock with his mum and two sisters and learn important social skills to become a mature hippo.
"A great time to see Kani is around 11.15am daily when the hippos are fed or early in the morning just as the zoo opens when the hippo herd is often out of the water walking around their paddock," she said.
