Zakharya, a female hippopotamus, celebrated her forty-second birthday in Kazan, Tatarstan 24 reports. This age is considered respectable for hippos, because in the wild they rarely live more than forty years. But with proper care, hippos can live even up to 60.
"Despite her advanced age, our hippopotamus is active, kind, and in excellent physical condition," said Dayana Sharafutdinova, a zoo technician.
Zakharya is a long-lived resident and the pride of the Kazan Zoobottsad. She was born in the Soviet Union on December 10, 1982 in the Riga Zoo. Two years later, she was transferred to the Krasnodar Traveling Circus. And for twelve years she toured the cities of Russia, until she arrived in Kazan in 1996.
An interesting fact is that Zakharya was Zakhar for a long time. Because the people around her were sure that there was a male hippopotamus in front of them. Everything changed as soon as the adult hippopotamus entered the Kazan Zoo.
"There were twenty-degree frosts, Zakharya (then still Zakhar) created a mood for Kazan circus visitors. Alexander Malev, an employee of the Kazan Zoo, was among them. He exchanged Zaharija for a llama guanaco. And she never left Kazan. At the same time, the zoo staff realized that in front of them was not a male, but a female hippopotamus. And they changed their name to Zakharia," the Kazan Zoo said.
In the capital of Tatarstan, Zakharya immediately won the hearts of the staff and visitors. In 2019, she was transferred to a new modern aviary in the new territory of the Zambezi River. Zakharya is friendly, and gets along peacefully with a family of Egyptian herons in the same pool.
The zoo told us that when Zakharya is in a good mood, she dives like a dolphin, snorts her nose, creating fountains on the surface of the water. And as soon as she sees the staff, she starts begging for food, opening her mouth wide.
A hippo's menu at such an advanced age is carefully balanced and consists of hay, porridge, and fruit and vegetables. A hippopotamus eats about 20 kilograms of hay and up to 10 kilograms of vegetables and fruits daily. Zoologists often use pumpkins and watermelons as treats, but this wonderful lady's favorite treat is apples. She's willing to do anything for them, like brushing her teeth.
The photos and videos are provided by the Kazan zoo.