Even as Kolkata is experiencing bone-chilling winters with temperatures dropping below 10 degrees Celsius, a young hippopotamus at the city’s Alipore Zoo has been standing still inside a water enclosure for nearly a fortnight.

According to sources in the zoo, veterinarians and experts have been unable to determine whether the male hippopotamus, which is not eating or returning to its night shelter, is depressed or unwell. They have tried to guide the animal back to its shelter, but have failed.

They said that, like all other animals at the zoo, the hippopotamus, too, comes out of its shelter during the daytime and spends the day submerged in the water. In the evening, it returns to the shelter. However, it has been standing motionless in its enclosure in the water since before Christmas.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Tripti Shah, Director, Alipore Zoo, said, “Our team of veterinary doctors are taking care of the hippopotamus. We have cordoned off the enclosure from the public at present so that the hippopotamus does not get disturbed.”

Line of treatment

Experts say hippopotamuses have very sensitive skin and, to protect themselves from the sun, require water to keep their bodies cool, which is why zoos are designed to include water bodies in their enclosures.

Initially, zoo authorities suspected that the animal may have suffered a leg injury, and was unable to climb out of its enclosure. The zoo veterinarians partially drained the enclosure’s water to diagnose it, but sources said the animal’s condition worsened, forcing them to refill it.

Sources said that, as the animal is not eating properly, authorities placed its food on the edge of the water body, but it is still unable to eat. The vets are treating the animal even as it remains in the water.

They said if the hippopotamus is suffering from nerve-related issues, then it would be difficult for the animal to lift its own body.

Other hippos at Alipore Zoo

Presently, Alipore Zoo has two hippopotamuses, one of which is an elderly female.

In 2024, a 35-year-old female hippo died during a dental surgery, after, according to sources, its lower jaw canines overgrew, piercing the skin near its nose and creating deep wounds. The animal was unable to move its teeth, and blood would flow when it opened its mouth, with the wounds turning malignant.

Then-zoo director Shubhankar Sengupta decided on the surgery, but in August 2024, the animal died during the procedure.

One month after her death, a male and a female hippopotamus were brought from Nandankanan Zoo for breeding. However, within a few days of their arrival at Alipore Zoo, the female hippo died. The cause of the animal’s death remains unclear.