Roaming hippo off to fresh pastures

THE hippopotamus that went viral recently after its escape from the Rondevlei section of the False Bay Nature Reserve is set to be relocated.

The City made the announcement yesterday, saying the hippo that wandered the streets of Grassy Park last week to evade a clash with the herd’s dominant male will be transported to his new home once caught.

Cape Town has its own pod of common hippopotamus (hippopotamus amphibius) that have called the Rondevlei section of the nature reserve home since 1981.

The small family group of hippos has, over the past four decades, formed a critical part of the wetland ecology under the eye of the City’s biodiversity management team.

The hippos were lost to Cape Town around 300 years ago after being hunted to extinction, and as a result, an ecosystem engineer from the wetlands of the fynbos biome was also lost.

This situation was reversed through dedicated conservation biologists when two males were re-introduced to the Rondevlei section.

They were joined by two females in 1983.

Deputy mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said: “Naturally, hippo pods contain approximately 10 to 15 individuals and comprise of one dominant male and females with calves. As the male calves come of age, they would naturally disperse to find their own territory.

“Rondevlei’s original dominant male is impressively still present, which requires the need to relocate some of the older male offspring to protect them from the dominant male’s efforts to remove the threat they pose to his dominance.

“The City has successfully implemented relocation operations in the past. We are currently planning for another relocation to safeguard a young male – this is the very same male that trended on social media platforms when he escaped from Rondevlei in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 13, to evade the dominant male.

“Once captured, the animal will be transported to his new home in a special container designed for this purpose.

“The City will inform the public once the relocation operation has been concluded,” Andrews said.

Hippos are endemic to Africa.