Does anybody know what caused the pigment loss behind this hippos ears? The width of the cage wagon may give you a clue. Changes should have been made, with out being told that it was necessary.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Circus Hippo
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
I have seen hippos in zoos with a loss of pigmintation around the hooves. Someone with more expertise than I should comment on the cause.
This particular animal wound up in Busch Gardens. It had been purchased by the Cristianis for their 1959 show.
I believe damage or scarring of skin can result in lighter pigmentation. It can look healthy, just lighter. I once bought a young hippo that had a crate door dropped on it in Africa. It had rolled in the manure during transit. After unloading the back swelled for a few days then dropped leaving about 1/3 of the back with dead skin. The vet from the Boston zoo cut the skin off leaving what looked like a giant pepperoni pizza in a big hole on his back. We treated it and the skin grew back from back to front showing remarkable healing because this skin is thick! In the end he was left with just a narrow pink line across his back at the site of the original injury. Horses can have hair grow back white from a saddle soar. I currently have a camel with a white spot in front of his hump. Probably the same thing.
Larry Records
Larry,
Welcome and thank you for your thoughts on the subject. The white hooves that Richard mentions, I have wondered if it was caused by some type of poor water quality as it only occurs at the feet. Obviously a small rusty steel tank, with dirty water sloshed on the sides will cause the rubbing, similar to a "cage rub" on other captive mammals.
Wade
P.S. For folks who don't know him, Larry has a bit of "expertize" after many, many years of working with the famed Southwicks.
Post a Comment