I saw an image in the newspaper recently in which some animals were being airlifted from the Prague zoo due to the recent flooding. The accompanying text mentioned that several animals could not be rescued and were shot (so they wouldn’t suffer, I guess?), amongst which they mentioned hippos.
Don’t hippos spend most of their time in water? Aren’t their bodies adapted to a water-dwelling life? Why would a hippo have been in danger of dying in the flood in Prague?
it’s my guess that a hippo’s natural environment is a shallow river with grassy banks. Not a flood coursing thru a zoo, where they’d get swept up against fences, or pushed into deep water surrounded by buildings and concrete and cars. And people.
Well, Northern European floodwaters are not exactly the same calm, warm, sluggish streams as the great gray-green greasy Limpopo River. That could have presented a threat.
Alternatively, they may have been afraid that the hippos would float out of their confines and survive–leaving a very dangerous and very irritated animal to roam the Czech countryside until found and restrained or killed.
My question would be, what poor unfortunate soul will have the responsibility of disposing of a bloated hippo carcass and how would he accomplish such a task?
Mmmmmm, time for a big 'ol bar-b-que!!!
Hippos may spend a lot of time in water, but they are mammals, and they can drown. Flooding means too much water, water is above hippos’ heads, hippos drown. Poor hippos.