Hippo

Looks to be one of the younger girls; Kibibi or Kendi.

How many hippos did you see overall?

@Jambo 4. This one was alone in the big paddock, and 3 were together in the little beach paddock.

@akasha Interesting. They have five hippos overall. The three in the little beach paddock would've had to have been Cuddles, Kani and one of her other daughters. That seems to indicate the other missing daughter is this one. Unless this is Nile, and the other daughter was just submerged (out of view). But size wise, this looks to be a younger individual.

@akasha Interesting. I’d guess this is Kendi (2017) as it looks too young to be either a full grown female like Nile (1999) or Kibibi (2014). Perhaps she was becoming too boisterous with Kani (2020) and they chose not to risk him becoming injured.

@Zoofan15 It would then make sense as the other three would be Cuddles, Kibibi and Kani.

Nile was probably in one of the smaller enclosures.

@akasha @Jambo It’s interesting that Kendi now appears to be seperate from the others. Long term, this could complicate her reintroduction. Long term this would increase her likelihood of breeding with a new bull, while Cuddles and Kibibi remain as a pair.

@Zoofan15 I agree. Not all females get along well with their mothers of course. At Werribee, Lotus often fights with her older sister, Tulip. Apparently Lotus is rather, a troublemaker.

I'd imagine Kendi may be a similar character; and may have even presented a problem for Kani. Interestingly from the Kibibi photo too; Kibibi wasn't in the 'vicinity' of Cuddles, showing her independence. Werribee's two groups are always together. Always in the same area of the pond, always sleeping together, eating together. It goes to show how different of a character Cuddles is; and her different mothering behaviours.

@Jambo The aggression may have even come from Cuddles herself. Tulip was well and truly independent when Lotus came along five years later, as was Kibibi re. Kani.

Kendi, while weaned, would have still been in the periphery of Cuddles and that could have led her mother to push for more space.

Fudge at Auckland Zoo stuck to Faith like glue. He was her last surviving calf and had no younger siblings to take priority.

@Zoofan15 That's true; Kendi would have still been attached to Cuddles, and Cuddles obviously wasn't up to having two calves following her around everywhere

Kibibi though, was of similar age when Kendi was born. It may just come down to personality. Kendi's a second born; and we know second borns are always very...out there Whereas, Kibibi, the first born, represents a more laidback, independant persona. She can obviously coexist with Cuddles and Kani without giving Cuddles any drama

@Jambo That’s very true re. second borns. They lack the chill first borns seem to exude.

Interestingly, I recall the reunion of Cuddles with Kibibi and Kendi being around six months following Kani’s birth versus four months following Kendi’s birth. At the time I assumed this was because they were introducing a new calf to a five year old sibling and that Kibibi was the reason, but perhaps Kendi gave them reason for caution. In any case, it was critical to protect Kani being a young bull.