World’s oldest hippo dies at Kiev Zoo

Bresta the hippo passed away yesterday in Kiev Zoo, aged 58. Bresta was officially proclaimed the oldest surviving hippo back in 2013 after celebrating her 55th anniversary. Normally hippos live well into their 40s but rarely reach the age of 50.

Today, Kiev Zoo’s Facebook page confirmed the death of the animal and added that “Bresta passed away peacefully in her sleep.” There are unconfirmed reports circulating on Ukrainian social media stating that the veteran hippo had been struggling with arthritis in her final years, however The Calvert Journal has been unable to verify this information.

More details emerged recently about the colourful biography of Bresta. Born in 1958 in Munich Hellabrunn Zoo, in the midst of the Cold War standoff between the two superpowers, Bresta was lent to Leningrad Zoo as “a goodwill gesture”. Making an exciting road journey across Europe, the cage with the animal was detained for a few days at the USSR border in Brest, where local customs officials named the hippo after their hometown. Bresta spent a few adventurous years in Leningrad where she fell in love with a male hippo called Almaz. The romance didn’t last too long, as Bresta was shortly transferred to Kiev, where the animal spent the rest of her tumultuous life.

Kiev Zoo is well-known in the zoological community for having an exceptionally large numbers of old animals. The zoo’s employers attribute this fact to a unique breeding and animal care system developed by Ukrainian specialists. Kiev Zoo officials are now planning to publish a research study focused on the well-being of hippos, which will be distributed in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around the world.