(MY) birth and death

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Wednesday December 27, 2006

 

New baby hippo yet to be named

 

By NOOR FARIDAH ZULKIFLIE

 

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: There is a new baby at Zoo Negara, but he has yet to be named.

 

The 10-day old offspring of Duke and Kibu is a healthy 22kg hippopotamus.

 

Born at 3am on Dec 16, he is the third baby born to the two adult

hippos at the national zoo.

 

The first baby hippo was born six years ago and the second came along

in January this year.

 

However, the big sister trampled the little one to death when she was

only three days old.

 

Wiser now, the zoo authorities have cordoned off the newborn from

firstborn Chombi.

 

It was a touching scene at the zoo's hippo enclave yesterday, with

Kibu, like any other mother, doting on her newborn.

 

The father, on the other hand was seen frolicking in the water with

his first-born.

 

" We have to keep Chombi apart from the baby hippo for now because she

killed her sister the last time, " said Malaysian Zoological Society

director Dr Mohamad Ngah.

 

The zoo is currently looking for a sponsor to adopt the newborn for

RM20,000 to RM30,000 a year, as maintenance costs have risen.

 

Society chairman Datuk Ismail Hutson said this was relatively cheaper

than maintaining other animals like tigers, as hippos only consume

vegetables.

 

He said the individual or organisation that sponsors the newborn would

be given the honour to name the baby hippo.

 

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Wednesday December 27, 2006

 

Injured Mardos put down at zoo

 

By HILARY CHIEW

 

newsdesk

 

PETALING JAYA: The injured male elephant calf, Mardos, was put down

yesterday at the Malacca Zoo.

 

After languishing in pain for nearly six months at the Kuala Gandah

Elephant Sanctuary, the 22-month-old elephant was given a lethal

injection at 9am.

 

HUMANE MEASURE: File picture of Mardos in his enclosure. He was put

down on Tuesday.

It was later skinned as the Department of Wildlife and National Park

(Perhilitan) intends to preserve the remains.

 

On July 1, Mardos was seriously injured while being transported

together with an adult elephant to a nearby school.

 

It fractured both its hind legs near the knee when it slipped on the

truck flooring that had become slippery after the animals defecated on

it.

 

To facilitate the euthanasia, Mardos was transferred from the

sanctuary in Central Pahang to the zoo, arriving in the early hours on

Saturday morning.

 

Tenaga Nasional Bhd had chipped in by supplying a RM50,000 electrical

contraption to hoist the bed-ridden Mardos.

 

Mardos had been overweight due to months of immobility and required 11

men to turn it over regularly to prevent sores.

 

Perhilitan director-general Abdul Rasid Samsudin could not be reached

for comments as he was in a full-day meeting.

 

Mardos' injuries were deemed too difficult to be treated and

veterinarians consulted by Perhilitan had proposed euthanasia as a

humane measure.

 

Animal welfare groups had called for Mardos to be put down as they

believed that the mammal would suffer further with just three legs

supporting its immense weight.

 

Mardos was a displaced baby elephant rescued from a well in Jemaluang,

Johor, in July 2005 and delivered to Kuala Gandah.