CHENNAI: A hippopotamus calf born in the wee hours on Monday died soon after delivery in Arignar Anna Zoological Park at Vandalur. The calf was born to the zoo’s famous hippos - Saundarya and Vamburi. “We prevented the two hippos from mating since we didn’t want more animals.
However the walls between their enclosures broke down during cyclone Vardah leading to Saundarya conceiving,” said a zoo official. The official added that while the reason for the death is unknown at the moment, doctors suspect that cannibalistic instinct of the mother right after delivery may have caused injuries to calf, leading to its death.