The idea of having a tame hippopotamus as a pet may seem fanciful, yet these massive mammals have a complicated history of interactions with humans. If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: While hippos have been trained to perform in captivity, they remain highly unpredictable and dangerous animals that should not be kept as pets.

In this nearly 3000 word article, we’ll explore whether hippos can truly be domesticated by looking at examples of ‘tame’ hippos throughout history as well as the realities of hippo behavior and the ethical concerns around keeping wildlife.

We’ll also overview the practical challenges of caring for a hippo and why they don’t make good pets.

Notable Cases of ‘Tame’ Hippos

Famous Captive Hippos Like Owen and Mzee

One of the most famous cases of a ‘tame’ hippo is the story of Owen and Mzee. In 2004, a baby hippopotamus named Owen was separated from his herd during the Indian Ocean tsunami and ended up on the shore of a marine park in Kenya.

There, Owen was rescued by park rangers and ended up befriending an elderly giant Aldabra tortoise named Mzee. The unlikely animal pair bonded strongly, spending their days together grazing, bathing, and even sleeping side-by-side.

Their remarkable friendship made headlines around the world. Over the next few years, Owen and Mzee inspired children’s books and a documentary film as they continued to be nearly inseparable companions.

Their tale seems to show that, when properly socialized from a young age, hippos may have the capacity to form close bonds with other species.

Pet Hippos in Colombia’s Pablo Escobar’s Zoo

In the 1980s, the Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar illegally smuggled four hippos into the country for his personal zoo. After Escobar died, most of the animals went to zoos and sanctuaries – but not the four hippos.

They were left behind at Escobar’s estate and founded a feral population that still lives in the countryside today. Numbering over 80 individuals, these hippos are now considered an invasive species.

However, when the hippos were still Escobar’s pets, accounts suggest they were relatively tame around humans. Escobar reportedly took his young daughter and son on rides on the back of a hippo named Patrona.

But experts warn that hippo-human interactions still pose dangers, as hippos can be highly aggressive and territorial. Attempting to tame hippos on one’s own is not recommended.

Hippo Behavior and Suitability as Pets

Hippos Are Highly Aggressive and Territorial

Hippos are well known for being aggressive and territorial animals. According to the San Diego Zoo, hippos are considered one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, attacking humans more than any other species on the continent.

They are very protective of their young and their habitat, and will attack threats relentlessly.

Hippos have large teeth that can grow over a foot long. They use these impressive chompers to intimidate perceived threats or challengers. Their powerful jaws can snap a canoe in half with ease. When provoked, hippos can run surprisingly fast, charging at adversaries at speeds up to 19 miles per hour.

Attempting to tame these aggressive beasts and keep them as pets would pose tremendous risks. Even animals raised in captivity from birth retain their wild instincts and can attack their owners without warning.

Famed drug lord Pablo Escobar learned this the hard way when his illegally smuggled “pet” hippo named Hacienda NĂ¡poles killed one of his caretakers.

Hippos Have Very Specific Care Requirements

In addition to their dangerous temperaments, hippos also have very particular care requirements that would make them extremely challenging pets to maintain.

Hippos need to spend lots of time each day immersed in water to keep their skin moist and healthy. In the wild, they may spend up to 16 hours a day in rivers and lakes. Building ponds or pools large enough for hippos can be prohibitively expensive for most people.

These hefty herbivores also eat a tremendous amount each day to sustain their large size. An adult hippo consumes over 80 pounds of grass and other vegetation daily. Keeping hippos well-fed with the proper diet would require huge amounts of appropriate food.

Due to these demands and others, even zoos struggle to adequately care for hippos in captivity long-term. Trying to maintain a pet hippo would be enormously difficult for private owners.

Concerns Around Unethical Wildlife Trafficking

Obtaining a hippo held in private captivity likely involves unethical and illegal wildlife trafficking. Hippos are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Removing them from the wild exacerbates threats to their survival as a species.

The lucrative exotic pet trade drives more poaching and black-market capture of hippo calves in Africa. This violently tears baby hippos away from their herd, leaves lasting trauma, and threatens remaining wild populations already at risk.

Plus, domestic breeding programs still rely on genetic stock originally poached from their natural habitats at some point. The entire supply chain promotes more exploitation of endangered wildlife.

For these reasons, reputable zoos, sanctuaries and conservation groups oppose the trade and ownership of hippos or other wildlife as pets. Caring individuals should support animal welfare policies that protect vulnerable species instead.

The Practical Difficulties of Keeping Hippos

Providing Adequate Space and Facilities

Hippos are massive animals that can weigh over 3,000 pounds and reach lengths of over 13 feet. In the wild, they roam extensive territories and spend much of their time in rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Captive hippos require spacious enclosures with large bodies of water for swimming and wallowing.

Most zoos cannot accommodate adult hippos because of their enormous space requirements. Constructing sufficiently large exhibits with pools, land areas, and sheltered spaces is extremely costly. Access for caretakers to safely interact with and care for hippos is also a major design consideration.

Hippos are also powerful animals capable of breaking through fencing and barriers if inadequately contained. Their enclosures must have sturdy boundaries and safety features to protect hippos and humans. Electric fencing and moats are commonly used.

Housing male hippos is particularly challenging as they are territorial and often aggressive. Bulls require isolated enclosures unless special care is taken to integrate them with cows and calves.

Sourcing Food and Managing Diet

In their native habitats, hippos spend up to five hours grazing each night, consuming 35-90 pounds of grass. Replicating their natural diet in captivity requires supplying large amounts of fresh grass, hay, vegetables, and specialized pellets. An adult hippo eats hundreds of pounds of food per week.

Sourcing and storing this quantity of food, and developing balanced diets, requires significant resources. Competition over food is also a leading cause of conflict between hippos. Feeding must be carefully managed to ensure each hippo gets adequate access.

Hippos have specialized nutritional needs and are prone to obesity and gastrointestinal issues. Their food must be of consistently high quality and nutritional content. Most zoos do not have the capabilities to sustainably produce or procure food in the volumes required for hippos.

As a result, hippo diets are supplemented with produce which can lead to health problems. The logistics of feeding hippos represents a major barrier to their care in captivity.

Cleaning and Sanitation Challenges

Hippos create an exceptional amount of waste. Adults defecate up to 8 times per day, producing over 50 pounds of dung. Proper sanitation is critical to avoid disease transmission. Hippo facilities need drainage systems and protocols for rapidly separating waste from living areas.

Their ponds must also be frequently cleaned or filtered to remove excrement. Maintaining water quality parameters like pH, salinity, and nitrogen levels is essential. Chemical and biological filtration systems, as well as aquarium technology, may be required depending on exhibit size.

Due to safety risks, keepers cannot enter enclosures with hippos to clean. Remote waste removal tools or complex containment chutes are needed to manage waste without direct interaction. Sterilization and disinfection of surfaces is also difficult with large mammals.

Their waste coats exhibit features and they actively defecate in water. Effective sanitation requires significant staff time and access to specialized cleaning equipment suitable for large, dangerous animals.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Hippo Ownership Laws Around the World

Owning a hippo as a pet is illegal in most countries. Only a few places like the United Arab Emirates allow private exotic animal ownership with permits. Even in the UAE, hippos imported for commercial purposes require permits from the Environment and Protected Areas Authority.In the United States, laws vary by state, but generally it is forbidden or requires exotic animal permits that are difficult to obtain.

Impact on Conservation Efforts

Conservation groups have raised alarms about the threats posed by private exotic pet ownership to vulnerable wildlife populations. The demand created by the exotic pet trade has been linked to more poaching from the wild.

Hippos are classified as a vulnerable species, with estimates of between 115,000-130,000 left in sub-Saharan Africa. Conservationists argue that the removal of even a few hippos for pets could damage delicate populations.

Promoting Irresponsible Exotic Pet Ownership

Critics argue that high profile cases of exotic pets like hippos fuels public interest in owning dangerous wild animals as pets. For example, after the headline-grabbing case of a Colombian drug lord’s pet hippo herd made news, authorities saw an uptick in illegal hippo importation.

Conservation groups contend that the popular fascination with exotic pets encourages black market wildlife trafficking and irresponsible pet ownership that is harmful to vulnerable species.

Conclusion

While there are a handful of examples of supposedly ‘tamed’ captive hippos, these massive and aggressive animals are not suited to being pets. Their complex needs and unpredictable behavior means that responsible hippo ownership requires expert facilities and care – which are out of reach for the average exotic pet lover.

For the good of hippos and public safety, the question of whether hippos can be tamed should remain more a fanciful thought than an actual goal. Countries around the world should uphold bans on private hippo ownership to discourage illegal trafficking and irresponsible treatment of these impressive but dangerous creatures.

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