The public is being invited to help Mae Mali, the oldest living hippopotamus in the country, celebrate her 58th birthday at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri this weekend.
Festivities planned from Saturday through Monday will include an exhibition dedicated to the hippo, along with traditional birthday celebrations and games for attendees to enjoy.
Visitors who were born on Sept 8, the day Mae Mali was born, will also receive gifts, said Attapon Srihayrun, director of the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand (ZPO).
Mae Mali is believed to be the longest-lived mammal in captivity in the country.
The hippo was born on Sept 8, 1966, at Koelner Zoo in Cologne, Germany. She was transferred to Dusit Zoo on June 8, 1967. Since then, she has seen 24 prime ministers come and go.
When Dusit Zoo was decommissioned in 2018, the hippo was moved to Khao Kheow Open Zoo. She has lived there under the watchful eyes of the zoo’s veterinary team ever since.
Mae Mali now weighs about two tonnes and consumes at least 50 kilogrammes of grass and other plants daily. The hippo has had 14 calves.