You would never know it by watching them on land but, underwater, hippos are incredibly graceful. Watch them swim effortlessly in their giant glass-walled pool — just inches from your nose.
At the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, we’re passionate about wildlife conservation. Your donations and membership costs can go a long way towards helping us fund our efforts.
Hippos live in many parts of Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. They spend most of the day wallowing, resting, and swimming in freshwater rivers and lakes, surrounded by grasslands.
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The Calgary Zoo’s indoor hippo tank can hold 364,000 litres. Tilapia fish help us keep it clean by feeding on hippo waste.
For over a decade, the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo has worked with the Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary, to protect one of only two remaining hippo wallows in the country of Ghana. Two distinct zones were created along a 40-kilometre stretch of the river, so that hippos and people could peacefully co-exist.
