Parco Natura Viva: Camilla, a 55-year-old hippopotamus, gives birth to her 15th child

At the record age of almost 55, "Camilla", the oldest hippopotamus in Europe, gave birth to her 15th child at the Natura Viva park in Bussolengo (Verona). Vulnerable for extinction according to the IUCN Red List, the little one is the only one born in Italy in the last 5 years.

At ten days old, she spends her time breastfeeding under water and taking her first steps out of the pond, to follow her mother. The two, weighing approximately 2,500 kilograms for her and 50 for him, live with their family and with a group of nyala antelopes, which is also home to two newborns. No one is allowed to get close to the new arrival, neither in the water nor out, and this will continue to be the case for the next few weeks.

"Camilla arrived at Parco Natura Viva in 1976, just 3 years after the opening of the first safari - recalls Camillo Sandri, zoological director of Parco Natura Viva -. She has been with us for fifty years, she has followed the entire evolution of the park from the first years of its opening to the present day and we have already seen her raise 14 young. But at this age, which is already beyond the life expectancy of a hippopotamus, no one would have ever thought that she was even still capable of reproduce. After 8 months of pregnancy, Camilla gave birth independently in the water. She did not move from the pond for the first three days of the baby's life and only started to go out to eat when he was able to follow her, despite the uncertain gait and the effort of the first days of life".

Water is the hippo's preferred environment, which in nature is safer than land. And when the little one is tired, Camilla immobilizes herself, offering him her snout as support, so that he can keep himself afloat without difficulty. The two remain still for many hours, to also protect themselves from the sun, cooling themselves.

In the 39 African countries where it is still present, the hippopotamus continues to lose ground under human pressure: pollution, mining and hunting for ivory from large canines and incisors are added to the reduction and fragmentation of freshwater habitats. A trade, the latter, which has acquired further value with the restrictions imposed on elephant ivory, making hippopotamus teeth one of the main alternatives on international markets. Between 2009 and 2018, the international trade recorded by Cites involved parts and derivatives attributable to approximately 13,900 hippos.