These mammals are called semi-aquatic herbivores, spending most of their time in water.

Hyderabad: The Nehru Zoological Park (Hyderabad Zoo) celebrated World Hippo Day on Sunday, February 15, by serving its four resident hippopotamuses a giant five-kilogram cake, which was well relished by the mammals.

Zoo authorities prepared the special cakes for Parvathi, Gajini, Rajitha and Rama; baked with wheat bran, pellets, mash feeds, jaggery, wheat roti and vegetables like cucumber, carrots, green garbanzo beans, colourfully layered with fruits like banana, apple, chiku (sapota), guava, watermelon, musk melon and pineapple.

Parvathi is the oldest hippopotamus housed by Hyderabad Zoo. At 52 years and weighing around 1,500 kgs, she leads the hippo team, active and in good health.

These mammals are called semi-aquatic herbivores, spending most of their time in water. They mostly graze at night and can easily consume 100 kgs of food on a daily basis.

According to Director Curator, J Muralidhar, hippopotamuses are crucial to maintain the fragile ecological balance. “Hippos are found in sub-Saharan Africa and are the third largest land animals after elephants and rhinos.