Chattogram Zoo has recently got a female hippopotamus named ‘Jalpori’ weighing 900 kilograms. A 12-year-old male hippopotamus weighing 1,300 kilograms is now happy seeing his female companion. He is called ‘Lalpahar’.
The female hippopotamus aged 9 years is kept with ‘Lalpahar’ to start a new life. She likes water very much. So, she does not want to get out of water. ‘Lalpahar’ is trying his level best to attract and impress her. Sometimes he plays with huff and sometimes banters. This is how they spend their time.
Chattogram Zoo has got the hippo couple from the National Zoo as part of an “exchange of animals”. It sent a pair of tigers to Rangpur Zoo.
Chattogram Zoo had no hippopotamus before. The zoo authorities and visitors are excited to get this new pair of hippopotamus. ‘Lalpahar’ was brought to Chattogram on September 21 from National Zoo in Dhaka. But his companion 'Jalpori' came to Chattogram at 5 am on October 17.
Chattogram Zoo Deputy Curator Dr. Shahadat Hossain Shuvo said that ‘Lalpahar’ is 12 years old and his female companion ‘Jalpori’ is 9 years old. Both of them are now leading a new life here. They like to eat grass and husk. They spend about 16 hours in water out of 24 hours.
"Hopefully within a year, ‘Jalpori’ will produce babies. Visitors have never seen a hippopotamus at Chattogram Zoo before. The spectators are also very excited to get them,” he added.
“We gave a pair of two-year-old tigers from Chattogram Zoo to Rangpur Zoo. In exchange, we got a pair of hippos from Dhaka. Dhaka and Rangpur zoos are managed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. Chattogram Zoo, on the other hand, is managed by the district administration,” he said.
Ahnaf Hasan Chowdhury, a 12th grade student, brought his younger brother Alfaz Hasan Chowdhury, a 7th standard student, to introduce him to different types of animals at Chattogram Zoo.
Ahnaf said, “I introduced my younger brother to a variety of animals which he had never seen before. Also, I have never seen a hippo before in this zoo. It was nice to see this new couple.”
A 65-year-old Ali Abbas brought his two grandsons while Roksana Begum came to Chittagong Zoo with her children. Roksana Begum said that her children were very happy to see the two hippos.
“I have taken the photo of the hippos on my mobile and will show it to the rest of the family members when I will return home,” she added.
President of the Chattogram Zoo Management Council and former Deputy Commissioner Md. Mominur Rahman wrote to the ministry, asking for a hippopotamus at the end of 2021. As the process did not progress, the letter was sent again on August 22 last year.
In this context, the ministry proposed to give a pair of tigers to Rangpur and a pair of Sambar deer and a pair of Indonesian Ayam Siamese roosters to Dhaka from Chattogram Zoo.
Besides, it has been stipulated that all expenses of sending tigers to Rangpur Zoo and bringing hippos from the National Zoo to Chattogram should be borne by Chattogram Zoo.
The Chattogram Zoo authorities sent a letter accepting the condition of sending the tigers to Rangpur and bearing the cost of bringing the hippopotamus from Dhaka on January 12.
As other animals are not enough in Chattogram, they are assured to be given later subject to breeding. Then on February 14, the ministry announced the final decision to give the hippopotamus to Chattogram Zoo. With this, Chattogram Zoo got the hippopotamus for the first time.
