One of the Franklin Zoo pygmy hippos. (Credits: Cristina Eduardo/Comunicas)The Franklin Park Zoo has plenty of reasons to rejoice this Wednesday, as the good news came in from the staff that Cleopatra —affectionately called Cleo—, one of the pygmy hippos in the Zoo, is expecting a baby. The pregnancy was first detected via ultrasound on September 4th 2018, when it was already 4 weeks pregnant, and given the gestation time of 6 to 7 months for this species, the hippo is expected to give birth in mid to late February 2019.
“We have been regularly monitoring the pregnancy via ultrasound to learn as much as we can about normal development. Not much is known about the development of pygmy hippo calves in utero, but thus far the calf appears to be healthy. We have observed the calf moving on the ultrasound and have detected the heartbeat. Due to the wonderful training program between Cleo and her keepers, we are the first ones that have ever been able to monitor a pygmy hippo pregnancy via ultrasound from early gestation. Other zoos in the U.S. and Europe are typically only able to first detect a pregnancy at around three months, or nearly halfway through gestation.”
—Dr. Eric Baitchman, Zoo New England Vice President of Animal Health and Conservation.
The news is particularly noteworthy considering pygmy hippos are an endangered species, with a small captive population of 103 individuals in all of North America. Its population is skewed towards female specimens, which according to the Basel Zoo in Switzerland consists of approximately 59% of the total. In the wild there are estimates of around 2000 and 2499 individuals left in their native habitat in West Africa (specifically Sierra Leone, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Liberia), according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Due to their reclusive nature and their nocturnal behavior, they have been difficult to count with precision.
Cleopatra’s mate, Inocencio, first arrived at the Franklin Park Zoo in 2013, from the Parque Zoológico Buin in Chile where he was born, and at the time of his arrival he was too young to breed with Cleo, which required careful planning for years in order for them to successfully mate. Cleo’s breeding, while natural, was the result of a series of prior trials and tests in order to inseminate her artificially, which was unsuccessful despite the constant monitoring. The Zoo New England’s Animal Care staff was able to create positive reinforcement training techniques to successfully acclimate the hippo to receive regular ultrasounds, in order to maintain a close eye to the development of the fetus.
“This pregnancy is the result of years of planning. While we are thrilled that Cleo is expecting, we are cautiously optimistic and are hoping for a successful delivery of her calf. This birth will contribute to the preservation of this species.”
—John Linehan, Zoo New England President and CEO.
The population of pygmy hippos is dwindling due to the increasing threats of logging, farming, mining and human settlements in their native habitats. The study of Cleopatra’s pregnancy development will help to better understand the reproductive physiology and behavior of the endangered animals and to bolster their numbers in the future.
