Orphaned baby hippo to be hand-reared by keepers at Kenya sanctuary

A baby hippo found desperately nudging its dead mother at a lake in Kenya over the weekend is now being hand-reared at a wildlife sanctuary after being rescued.

The calf, which has been named Bumpy, was “just days old” when it became orphaned, according to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a charity whose keepers are now taking care of it.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which rescued the calf and handed it over to the wildlife charity for specialised care, said the mother may have died from natural causes.

KWS said the mother hippo had visible injuries on its lower body, which are “presumed to have resulted from an encounter with another wild animal”.

“It is possible that the mother sustained fatal injuries while protecting the calf or during a naturally occurring encounter… [or it] could be an encounter with a male hippo during the mating process,” KWS told the BBC.

It said such incidents, while not routine, were not uncommon in a wild ecosystem.

KWS said rescuing the calf from the water was a “logistical challenge”, with the calf clinging to its dead mother. It said it had to make a “painful decision” to use the decomposing body “as the only anchor to safely reach the calf”.

According to Sheldrick, the mother had been dead for more than a day or longer, based on the level of decomposition.

After being rescued, the baby hippo spent its first night at a nursery in the capital Nairobi, being fed on milk and swaddled in a blanket.

The charity says Bumpy “was clearly desperate for comfort and connection” and has been glued to his keepers ever since.

The calf was later flown by helicopter to Sheldrick’s Kaluku sanctuary near Tsavo East National Park, to be taken care of until it is ready to be released into the wild.

The sanctuary has been sharing Bumpy’s story and photos at its new location – at a pool near the Athi River which runs through the park.

“[Bumpy] spends a lot of the day submerged – but never alone. A rather waterlogged keeper is by his side throughout the day, in the water or on the ground,” Sheldrick adds.

“He is a very snuggly creature and is happiest when nestled on or against someone,” the sanctuary adds, alongside a photo of the hippo with its head on the keeper’s lap.

Bumpy joins another young hippo at Kaluku who is nearly a year old, although they are being kept in different areas, the sanctuary says.

Both are expected to be released when they grow up to join other hippos living in the wild.

In the wild, a hippo calf nurses for up to a year or more but remains closely attached to its mother for several years until around sexual maturity, according to wildlife experts.

Founded in 1977, the Sheldrick Wildlife is renowned for its care of orphaned elephants and rhinos, rescuing and reintegrating them into the wild.

The charity received the first hippo under its care in December 2016 – an orphaned female named Humphretta, or Humpty. However, the young hippo died six months later.

KWS told the BBC that successful hand-rearing of a hippo was possible when undertaken by experienced wildlife professionals, with rehabilitation programmes “designed to preserve their instinctive behaviours and natural affinity to water”.

It added that it had, with its conservation partners, previously rehabilitated and reintegrated other orphaned hippos successfully into the wild at the Tsavo park.