Bondla hippo dies after domestic row

PANAJI: Sarita, the female hippopotamus who came to Bondla zoo with Devidas through a friendly exchange from Mysore zoo for a pair of sloth bear died tragically in what forest officials said was a freak accident.
Devidas shoved Sarita violently from behind in a moment of anger and she crashed onto the muddy ground and suffered a fatal injury, zoo officials said.
“They had been mating during the week, but on Tuesday, Sarita appears to have rejected his overtures and Devidas, who is almost double her weight pushed her as she started walking away out of the pool,” an official said.
The couple were the first exotic animals in Bondla and had arrived in late January, 2013 from Mysuru. The mostly herbivorous mammals had enjoyed a long holiday, away from the attention of tourists and visitors, as the separate enclosure for them took longer than expected. Their arrival had enthused zoo staff and after all efforts to revive Sarita failed, zoo staff and officials were saddened by her death.
Forest minister, Rajendra Arlekar has sought a detailed report about the hippo death on Wednesday after he came to know about it on Saturday, sources said.
“It is a freak accident and post mortem has shown that Sarita had congestion in her chest. The impact of the fall must have been very hard and she sustained an internal haemhorrhage,” a staffer said.
The couple had lived quietly, as hippos do, spending an average of at least 12 hours wallowing in the pool to avoid dehydration. “They had behaved normally otherwise and there were no incidents in the past,” the official said. The hippo couple was a big draw with visitors and tourists.
But on Tuesday, Devidas’ violent reaction at Sarita’s uncooperative attitude surprised zoo officials. “Such incidents have been reported in the past, in Delhi, for instance. Our staff feels sad, as they had grown fond of the hippos and this is something beyond their control,” the official said.
Sarita, slightly senior to Devidas, was laid to rest in the Bondla wildlife sanctuary. “The staff gathered around the grave,” the official said.
Another memorable last rites were of Radha, the elephant who died a few years ago, leaving behind a younger male elephant. “Devidas will be alone now and it may take some time for it to hit him,” the official said.