Mordanschlag auf Rosamund!

Mrs. Hippo reist nach Melbourne

Auf der zwölften Fahrt der „Fürth“ von Europa nach Australien wurden Tiere vom Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg an die Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens geliefert. Unter ihnen befand sich ein Flusspferd, dass in Australien einige Aufmerksamkeit erregte, sollte es doch das erste überhaupt in einem australischen Zoo sein.

Hier noch einmal der Artikel zur Ankunft in voller Länge:

Landing a Hippopotamus.
Visitors to the Zoological Gardens will be interested in several new exhibits which arrived yesterday from Hamburg in the s.s. Fuerth. They comprise four monkeys, two agouti (something like guinea pig), two water hogs, and a hippopotamus. The animals were removed from the ship to the gardens this morning and the work of discharging them from the vessel was attended with no greater difficulty than if they had been so many cases of tea. The water hogs squealed a little, but pigs squeal in any circumstances, and it could hardly be wondered at that they should do so when swinging in mid-air on a thin length of wire rope. The hippopotamus in the cage he had occupied throughout the voyage was hoisted-state room and all-into the air by the donkey engine, and was swung over the side of the ship. A lorry was run alongside and the hippo which weighed a ton, was lowered gently to the vehicle. No invalid could have been less roughly carried from a ship, and before the river horse knew that he had been landed, he was on his way to the Zoo. The monkeys seemed to enjoy themselves. Two of the biggest looked ludicrous swing to the apparent effort to appear important in the eyes of the crowd of wharf laborers who gathered to gain a sight of them, but the two smaller animals gave themselves over to a good time ……(?) in about their cage to find their land legs.
The Herald, Melbourne, Mi. 13 Nov. 1912, S. 4

Anm.: letzte Zeilen im Original sehr unleserlich, deswegen  die Auslassung mit dem Fragezeichen im letzten Satz des Artikels

Von diesem ersten Flusspferd in einem australischen Zoo wurde sogar ein Foto veröffentlicht.

Wenig später wird das Flusspferd auch ein neues Gehege beziehen können, dass ein deutlich größeres und tieferes Wasserbecken hatte, als das alte.

…A new home, near the elephant home, is being prepared for the young hippopotamus. The tank will be much larger and deeper than the one which the “riverhorse“ at present enjoys….
The Herald, Melbourne, 23. Dez 1912, S. 8, AT THE ZOO

Flusspferd Nummer Zwei

Mehr Informationen über das Flusspferd erhalten wir dann gut ein halbes Jahr später, als der Zoo noch ein zweites anschaffte, welches diesmal mit der „Rostock“ von Hamburg nach Melbourne verschifft wurde, natürlich in der Hoffnung auf Nachwuchs.

NEW HIPPOPOTAMUS.
MEETS HIS FUTURE WIFE.
MIXED BATHING AT THE ZOO.
The picture which we reproduce elsewhere is a portrait of the new arrival at the Zoological Gardens, an African hippopotamus (H. amphibius). Once upon a time these animals might have been obtained in England – if there had been anybody to obtain them – but now Africa is their only habitat. This one was caught, when a mere baby, in a Central African river, shipped at Mombasa to Hamburg where he went into Hagenbeck’s collection. In Hamburg the price of such a pet is £500, but another hundred has been added for delivery, freight, attendance and insurance. This specimen is a male, about five years of age and thus only about have grown, a mere child of two tons or so in weight. He is of a conger eel colour spotted with minute black spots, shading into a violet pink tint on the under parts of the neck and belly, and the inside of the legs. The other specimen, a female, who has been in the gardens for about six months, is darker in colour and smoother in skin. This female is about a year younger than her new mate, and not quite so bulky. By and bye, if the climate suits them, they will measure from 12 to 14ft. in length, and weigh about four tons each. It is hoped that they will breed, as these animals have not infrequently done so in captivity.
The new arrival is apparently used to human beings. He came out in a huge box, on board of the Rostock, a box which resembles one of those in which motor-cars are shipped. This case was lowered yesterday from the side of the ship upon the lorry, and taken to the gardens, where it was opened, and the great animal lumbered out into the new hippo enclosure. The first thing which attracted his attention was the bath, and in went he, wallowing luxuriously after two months’ drought., his little piggy eyes as expressive of happiness as a hippopotamus’ eye can be expressive of anything. Then the female was let in, and for some time regarded her new mate with suspicion and alarm. She gazed into the tank, and he gazed out of it, his two little ears, his spout, and his eyes being the only things showing. Then she went in, and the two approached one another under water, coming up face to face, with open mouths, great caverns of pink flesh in which huge tusks exposed themselves. They were plainly a little suspicious, but meant no harm, and the exhibition of teeth was apparently only play. Finally, they stood together quietly, their heads above water, ludicrous caricatures of the horse, from which they take their name. They seem, indeed, placid, if stupid animals, and it looks as though they will get on well together. It is to be hoped they do, for they are the finest and most expensive exhibit in the gardens, costing together £1.100. With the exception of one owned by Messrs. Wirth, they are the only specimens in Australia.
The Argus, Melbourne, Do 19. Jun 1913, S. 12.

Damit waren also drei Flusspferde in Australien, die beiden im Zoo von Melbourne und Lizzie, das dem australischen Zirkusunternehmen Wirth gehörte und das später in den Zoo von Sydney kam.

Fotosession

Diesmal wurde gleich eine ganze Fotostrecke von den Flusspferden in der Zeitschrift „The Australasian“ veröffentlicht.

Bildunterschriften von links oben nach rechts unten:
1. THE NEW ARRIVAL ENTERING HIS ENCLOSURE, TAKING STOCK AS HE GOES.
2. ENJOYING HIS FIRST DIP.
3. MRS. HIPPO ENTERING THE BATH.
4. MR. HIPPO GETS A WARM WELCOME: MRS. HIPPO KNOCKING HIM OVER INTO THE BATH.
5. HE TAKES A DRINK AFTER HIS TUMBLE.
The Australasian, Melbourne, Sa 21. Jun 1913, S. 68,
Arrival of the new hippopotamus at the Zoological Gardens. Melbourne, on June 18.

Nachwuchs

Es sollte eine Weile dauern, bis Reporter von „The Australasian“ wieder wegen der Flusspferde in den Melbourne Zoo kamen, dann, als sich der erhoffte Nachwuchs einstellte.

BABY HIPPOPOTAMUS AND MOTHER.
The baby was born on Saturday morning, March 16, at the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, and is doing well. It passes most of its time in the water, its mother evidently considering it safer there than anywhere else, especially when visitors are about. Mr. Dudley Le Souef values it at £400.
The Australasian, Melbourne, Sa 30. März 1918, S. 50

Später werden wir erfahren, dass dieses erste Flusspferd-Baby leider nicht überlebt hat. In der Meldung aus dem Jahr 1924 über den vierten Nachkommen erfahren wir außerdem, dass das Flusspferd „Rosamund“ heißt und zwei weitere junge Flusspferde inzwischen verkauft wurden.

NEW ARRIVAL AT THE ZOO.
Hippopotamus Calf Born.
Yesterday afternoon Rosamund, the hippopotamus at the Zoo, gave birth to a fine calf, and by the latest reports both the calf and the mother are doing well.
The director of the Zoo (Mr. Andrew Wilkie) is very pleased about the new arrival, for not only will it prove valuable when it is aged a few months – it may then be worth £500 – but it is described a zoological curiosity, seeing that nowhere in the world, except at the Melbourne gardens, it is said, have these animals been known to breed in captivity. This, however, is the fourth calf that Rosamund has brought into the world. The first died, and the second and third were sold. Together they realised £900.
The Argus, Melbourne, Mo 7. Jul 1924, S. 10.

Traurige Todesfälle

Der Partner von „Rosamund“ hieß übrigens William. Er stirbt 1933 leider keines natürlichen Todes. Offensichtlich hatten sich einige Zoobesucher, den sehr zweifelhaften „Spaß“ erlaubt, die Tiere mit Tennisbällen zu „ärgern“. Wurden diese nicht von den Wärtern entdeckt, kam es vor, dass die Flusspferde diese mit der Nahrung aufgenommen haben, was dann tödlich verlief. Der unnatürliche Tod von William war der dritte seiner Art in einem australischen Zoo.

HIPPOPOTAMUS DIES.
SWALLOWED A TENNIS BALL.
Third Case in Australia.
An old tennis ball has caused the death of one of the favourites at the Zoo, the male hippopotamus whose youngest daughter was born only last week
…
The Argus, Melbourne, Mi 21. Juni 1933, S. 6 (Artikel nicht vollständig wiedergegeben)

Das Attentat

Gegen die Dummheit des Menschen gibt es spätestens dann nur noch wenig Gegenmittel, wenn sie mit krimineller Energie einher kommt. Nach den drei Todesfällen mit Tennisbällen hatten die Zoobesitzer versucht, die Flusspferde mit Maschendraht vor den Besuchern zu schützen. Allerdings hatten sie nicht mit einem oder mehreren Besuchern gerechnet, die vorsätzlich Tiere quälen und töten wollten und einen Tennisball in zwei Hälften geschnitten haben, um ihn durch den schützenden Drahtzaun zu stecken. Zum Glück wurde das jedoch entdeckt.

ZOO OFFICIALS PERTURBED
Attempt to Kill Hippopotamus.
Since the recent death of the male hippopotamus at Melbourne Zoo, due, it was discovered, to the animal having swallowed a tennis hall, special care has been taken to protect the life of the female hippopotamus, as the animal is valued at several hundreds of pounds. In the last few days, however, someone— a person of abnormally weak intellect, it must he assumed— has deliberately sought to cause the death of the creature by cutting a tennis hall into two sections and thrusting both parts through the wire mesh which was placed round the hippopotamus pool for the express purpose of protecting the animal against such dangers.
Fortunately these tennis ball sections were discovered and removed before any harmful result followed, and the life of the hippopotamus was saved.
The police are interesting themselves in the matter.
The Age, Melbourne, Mi 24. Jan 1934, S. 13

Falls Sie mal wieder in einen Zoo gehen: Überlegen Sie mal, zu welchen Anteilen der Zaun, das Gitter oder die Glasscheibe wen vor wem schützt. Den Besucher vor den Tieren oder vielleicht doch umgekehrt?

Familientreffen

Die letzte Meldung von „Rosamund“ habe ich im Jahr 1934 gefunden. Diese ist glücklicherweise wieder erfreulicher. Rosamund war inzwischen Großmutter geworden und hatte ihren Enkel „Maori“ zu Besuch.

Family Reunion at the Zoo

A strange family reunion took place in the hippopotamus house at the Melbourne Zoological Gardens yesterday afternoon, when Rosamund, the hippopotamus, greeted for the first time her two-year-old grandson, Maori who is spending a few days in Melbourne on his way from the Auckland Zoo to the Adelaide Zoo. Since the death of her mate William, several months ago as a result of having swallowed a tennis ball Rosamund has taken little interest in life. But she has revived following the official christening of her only remaining child, the seven months‘ old Peggy, on Tuesday.
Valued at more than £ 150 Maori was brought from Auckland by the assistant director of the Adelaide Zoo (Mr. R. R. Minchin), along with several Paradise ducks, Egyptian geese, and Chinese thrushes. What his menu lacked in variety Maori made up in quantity. Each day he consumed from two to three large buckets of chaff and bran, with three cabbages as a ’savoury.“
The Argus, Melbourne, Fr 5. Jan. 1934, S. 7

Nachkommen von Rosamund und William

Ob es auch heute noch in den australischen Zoos Flusspferd-Nachkommen von Rosamund und William gibt? Ich denke schon, aber diese Frage zu klären, überlasse ich einem Hippo-Fan.