Mahali, the Denver Zoo’s beloved hippo, will stay in the Mile High City for the holidays

Mahali, the Denver Zoo’s beloved Nile hippopotamus, will stay in the Mile High City a little longer than expected.

Zoo officials in July announced that the hippo would be transferred to a natural wildlife preserve in Texas following an inspection by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that noted significant upgrade needs for the animal’s habitat.

But this week, the zoo said Mahali, “made it known to his care team that he was not quite ready for this move,” officials said on its website. The team is now planning to continue the hippo’s crate training until his departure in the spring.

“Hippos, specifically, require ample time to prepare for change, and a move as significant as Mahali’s has had to progress at his pace,” zoo officials said. “From an animal well-being perspective, care teams have known that they would advance only as Mahali was ready.”

Old Pachyderms, the building that has housed Mahali and dozens of other hippos, rhinos and elephants since 1959, needs “significant updates” and is “no longer considered suitable for the species,” the zoo association’s inspection found.

The zoo is aware that the building “would not pass future inspections without substantial upgrades,” officials said in a blog post.

The Denver zoo also cited the hippo’s high water usage as a factor in its decision to move Mahali to Texas. Current operations consume nearly 21 million gallons of water annually, accounting for more than one-quarter of the zoo’s total water usage last year. It costs nearly $200,000 to maintain the habitat each year, officials said.

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