Hippo bites Denver zookeeper
By Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published July 14, 2008 at 10:55 a.m.
Updated July 14, 2008 at 2:41 p.m.
George Kochaniec Jr. © The Rocky
Mahali, a 5-year-old hippopotamus, rests in the mud today at the Denver Zoo. Earlier in the day a veteran worker at the zoo suffered a hand puncture when the hippopotamus closed his mouth during routine dental training.
Photo by GEORGE KOCHANIEC JR.
Bert, father of Mahali, swims in water at the Denver Zoo Monday. The woman keeper was bitten about 9:45 a.m. at the pachyderm compound as she and colleagues were doing desensitizing training on Mahali, a 5-year-old male, to make dental work more comfortable for the hippo.
Click to enlarge
A veteran worker at the Denver Zoo suffered a hand puncture today when a hippopotamus chomped down during routine dental training.
The woman keeper was bitten about 9:45 a.m. in the outdoor hippo exhibit as she and colleagues were doing desensitizing training on Mahali, a 5-year-old male, to make dental work more comfortable for the hippo.
"Mahali was doing this training where we ask him to hold his mouth open and while he holds his mouth open another keeper will tap on the teeth or do something to kind of desensitize the animal," said zoo spokeswoman Ana Bowie.
The training helps condition the animal "so he's more comfortable having hands or any dental tool in his mouth," she said.
"For unknown reasons, Mahali decided to close his mouth while one of our keepers had her left hand in his mouth," Bowie added.
Fortunately a smaller tooth — not a large tusk — inflicted the injury, because the keeper's hand was in front of Mahali's mouth, she said.
The 16-year veteran keeper quickly freed her hand after the puncture wound below the pinkie and ring finger on her left hand, she said.
"He closed his mouth. She literally popped him on the side of his nose ... and he opened his mouth right up," Bowie said.
"She walked away and we kept pressure on (the wound)," the spokeswoman said.
The alert keeper just wanted colleagues to drive her to the hospital, Bowie said. But workers called 911 and had paramedics transport her by ambulance.
Later in the morning, Mahali was dozing in the sand, while his dad, Bert, was partially submerged in the pond.
Bowie said zoo officials will review the accident to see if there's a way to improve procedures.
Mahali is the brother of Hazina, a female hippo that died in October after her nearly 29-hour ride to her new home at the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada.
The death was deemed "an accident that no one could have reasonably foreseen," an independent veterinarian's report later concluded.
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July 14, 2008
11:07 a.m.
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freedomfighter1 writes:
IT was probably one of those "HUNGRY-HUNGRY HIPPOS"
July 14, 2008
11:09 a.m.
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bthye writes:
She must have had a handfull of white marbles at the time.
July 14, 2008
11:11 a.m.
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JluvDC writes:
I'm trying to picture this exhibit and guessing it was a zoo employee that was bit, cause there aren't really any good places for a person to reach in to touch one.
July 14, 2008
12:36 p.m.
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SickNTired writes:
Too funny Yiota! Thanks.
July 14, 2008
1:58 p.m.
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danirobi writes:
Ouchtown!
July 14, 2008
2:02 p.m.
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dl1011 writes:
When Hippo's go BAD!
July 14, 2008
2:15 p.m.
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Jasin writes:
Maybe he had to swallow
July 14, 2008
2:28 p.m.
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newshound writes:
Seriously, this is on the front page? The headline should read...."Hippo bites captor, awarded key to city"
July 14, 2008
2:37 p.m.
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MsValeriah writes:
FloydHill: You couldn't possibly be more wrong with your comments about the Denver Zoo being third-rate. We can be very proud of our zoo. The animal staff there are dedicated to giving their charges the very best care possible. A great deal of effort goes into providing the animals there not only first rate food and veterinary care, but also a much more stimulating environment than was found in zoos in the past. Not only that, the Denver Zoo is involved in worldwide conservation efforts to help the animals in the wild stay in the wild, along with participating in captive breeding programs in cooperation with other zoos that are the only hope some species have of avoiding certain extinction. There are viable breeding populations of some species that were extinct in their native habitats that have been reintroduced as a result of some of those captive breeding programs. So don't be so quick to stand up on your self-righteous little soapbox and denounce zoos as evil. They're not. As usual, your comments are nothing but ignorant b.s.
July 14, 2008
2:53 p.m.
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Freshynana writes:
Nice info Ms Valeriah. I worked at a AZA credited zoo (Denver Zoo is a AZA credited Zoo) and was pleasently surprized at how much attention these animal get. To get this acredidation the zoo has to go through some hard core requirments. (Every 5 years I think. Now with the big cat tragety things might change... Of course its much better to see these animals in the wild but do you think a innercity kid is going to get a chance to see a Amur Leopard in the wild? Nope and by going to the zoo they might pick up some information on how to help our natural world. I would get sad seeing these animals behind "bars" but if it were not for zoo's like the Denver Zoo we would not have Amur Leopards (less then 200 left in the wild). We would not have California Condors, I can see people against circus's and other institutions that exploit animals but Im sure any profits made from The Denver Zoo go right back into Conservation.
Floydhill needs to go free some lobsters thats were you could help the most!