Hazina, the six-year-old hippopotamus who died at the Calgary Zoo in November after spending more than a day in a crate during a trip from the Denver Zoo, was killed by her own weight, a report released Tuesday concluded.
During the lengthy trip, no one saw Hazina stand, said Dr. Jacques Dancosse, a zoo veterinarian in Canada and a consulting veterinarian for the International Air Transport Association.
“Nobody saw…Hazina stand up for almost 29 hours ,” said Dancosse. “If she sat…in the dog sitting fashion (but nobody can be sure of that), it is easily understandable that the pressure was very significant on her hind legs all the time. Pressure was also present on her front legs and sternum…reinforcing the fact that the bedding was thin beneath her.
“Hippos are not marine mammals,” Dancosse added. “They are well-adapted to spend lots of time on earth foraging and resting. The fact that they often move prevents them to be affected by myopathy…or killed by their own weight.”
Dancosse concluded that the weight caused oxygen and nutrient deprivation throughout her muscles that set off a fatal chemical reaction in the animal.
Hazina came from a distinguished line of hippos kept and nurtured at the Denver Zoo.
Her mother was Samantha, who hippo arrived at the Denver Zoo in 1980, and her father was Bertie. Together the two mates sired more than 20 calves.
In Dancosse’s official report and in comments by the two zoos, it was noted that since 1966, the Denver Zoo had transported 14 hippos without incident.
But Tuesday officials said that there was a big difference between Hazina and the hippos that had gone before her.
All of the previous animals were under two years of age and weighed significantly less than Hazina, they said.
In addition, Hazina had been given hormones to reduce her fertility. Those hormones, said Dancosse, may have caused her to shoot up from 2,400 pounds in 2006 to 3,200 pounds in October 2007, which may have caused a sudden weight gain that increased pressure on her legs and exacerbated the situation.
Dancosse found several aspects of the transfer troubling.
They included:
– The width of the crate the hippo was transported in.
– Crate floors which apparently did not contain non-slip material.
– Crate training in Denver which may have led to a false sense that Hazina would do well on a lengthy transfer.
– The length of the wait at the U.S.-Canadian border.
While the crate was long enough and wide enough for Hazina, it was five feet wide while Hazina was four feet in width. Pictures of the floor did not show any special non-slip surface, which helps an animal to stand up, said Dancosse.
“Was this sufficient to allow the animal to easily stand up?” Dancosse asked. “Nobody actually saw the animal getting up and standing normally for the entire trip.”
As far as the crate training, Dancosse noted that while she did well while in the presence of other hippos, Hazina “was very skittish” when alone.
“Even though…Hazina looked and seemed quite relaxed at the end of the crate training, we must take into consideration the fact that being alone in a moving crate was certainly a different experience to her than being in a non-moving crate with other hippos known to be nearby,” the veterinarian said. “In this sense, it is my opinion that crate training in general might lead to a false security impression. It can be said that it is better than no training at all, but most certainly it will not eradicate stressful transportation conditions altogether – noise, motion, etc.”
When she arrived in Calgary, the report said, it took time for people there to realize the precarious health of Hazina.
She was in shock and her temperature was very low during the hours that Calgary Zoo personnel tried to encourage Hazina to leave her crate.
Dancosse concluded that Hazina’s death was an accident. But he recommended the following:
– Mandatory visual stops at regular intervals.
– A container that allows the hippo to stand, lay on its side without being cramped or being able to turn around.
– A crate with a non-slippery floor to facilitate the animal when it wants to get up.
– Abundant bedding (wood shaving when allowed)
– Some means of looking at the animal while driving such as a closed circuit camera.
– Means of giving water to the animal during transport without being there physically.
– Awareness of delays that might happen at border crossings.
– When possible, stops at zoos on the way if the carrier does not witness the animal standing up. Also, a recommendation that a zoo employee travel with the animal.
The Denver Zoo also announced findings from its own investigation. It said that “it seems clear” that getting a hippo of Hazina’s age and weight to stand and move more frequently may have reduced the likelihood of myopathy.
The Denver Zoo also said that when a hippo the size of and age of Hazina is transferred, a zoo keeper or veterinarian probably should go along because the hippo may be willing to stand if attended by one of its keepers.
The zoo also concluded that in the future, hippos may be trained to stand on command in their crate and crate design may be changed to allow for easier inspection of the animal while in transit. Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
