Svetik, the pink hippo at the Kaliningrad Zoo--2008

Zoo keepers thought they were going hippo-potty when they came in one morning and found their star animals had turned pink overnight. Four-year-old hippopotamus Svetik has stumped vets in Zoo Park in Kaliningrad, Russia, who believe he has a rare genetic condition.

Keeper Viktoria Tereshchenko said: "They haven't been able to give us a detailed explanation but Svetik is very healthy and fit and growing well."

Visitors have been flocking to the zoo to catch a glimpse of the bright pink hippo.

One onlooker told the Australian Times "He looks very pretty but that colour might not help him much when he gets around to breeding. He doesn't look very manly."

The youngster currently tips the scales at 600 kilograms - but could reach 3.5 tonnes by the time he gets to adulthood in six years.
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I have often pondered that this leucistic condition may be the reason for the fabled " Royal White Elephants." I wonder if it "goes" as well as "comes," which may be why the white elephants historically are not around to long. Apparently Viktoria Tereshchenko was more then a keeper as Svetik was performing in the Russian Circus's program Dzhumandzhi under the direction of Viktoria and Yevgeny Tereshchenko on Dec. 17, 2008.