Zorro the Runaway Hippo Has a New Home

Wed, 08 Jul 2015
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Zorro the Runaway Hippo Has a New Home
In February 2009, a young hippo fled from his own father in a dramatic scene like something straight out of a Wildlife Soap Opera.

We covered the story at the time.

 

The adventure-seeking 4 year old hippo was named Zorro, and much like the Prodigal Son from the Bible story, young Zorro ended up in a smelly place – a sewerage farm – where he hid for a year.

 

But all was not bad at this temporary home – fresh water and plenty of green grass kept our hero healthy and well-fed. When he ran away he weighed in at 800 kg but he is now a whopping 1 tonne or more!

 

Unlike his Biblical counterpart, however, Zorro was not to be welcomed warmly back to the family home at the Rondevlei Nature Reserve at Zeekoeivlei / Grassy Park.

 

He was finally lured by means of a baited trap into a capture boma and was discovered there, safe and sound, on Monday morning. Zorro has been taken to his new home in a Nature Reserve in Worcester, where more hippo friends will soon be introduced to keep him company.

 

(Image: Pumba Private Game Reserve. All rights reserved)

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