On February 9th, Atu, our little hippo, born in October 2009 at the Park, was transferred to "Zoo Duisburg" in Germany, after the request held by the EEP (European Endangered Species Breeding Program) representative.
The breeding of this species is highly important due to the fact that the birth rate of male hippos has fallen in contrast to the female one. Moreover, death rates amount to 30% within the first 60 days of their birth. AZP played a key role during this successful breeding process, showing that this species can be developed under ideal cirmustances.
Furthermore, we are happy to announce that two days after Atu left the park, his parents mated, thus giving us hope to expect a new hippo calf pretty soon!
