Longtime favorite Mahali, the Nile hippopotamus, is making a Texas-sized move this fall.
This week, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance announced that the popular pachyderm will be moving to a 3-acre habitat on a natural wildlife preserve in the Lone Star State.
It’s the zoo’s last hippo, and there are no plans to bring the species back. That’s as it looks to make repairs and upgrades to the Old Pachyderms building and improve on its water conservation goals.
DZCA said in a statement that the facility has housed Mahali and dozens of other hippos, rhinoceri, and elephants since 1959. And it now needs maintenance and repairs in order to remain up to standards set by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
“In our most recent inspection conducted by AZA, the facility was flagged for significant updates and is no longer considered suitable for the species,” DZCA said. “We are aware that Old Pachyderms would not pass future inspections without substantial upgrades.”
DZCA also said Mahali’s impending move helps with its conservation efforts to reduce water use.
The zoo set a goal in 2020 to reduce water use by 50 percent by 2025. The zoo said it fell 7 million gallons short of this goal last year and pointed to its hippo habitat as one reason.
Current operations for Mahali’s habitat involve daily pool maintenance, habitat cleaning and continuous freshwater access. That takes nearly 21 million gallons of water annually, which made up more than a quarter of the zoo’s water usage in 2024.
“We have known that the Nile hippo was never intended to be a part of our long-term plan and that we would eventually phase out the species,” DZCA said.
Mahali was born at the zoo in 2002 to his mother Samantha and father Bert. Described as a fan favorite, crowds would visit and watch him play with his toys and drink from his firehose and sunbathe.
The Old Pachyderm facility won’t remain completely vacant. Rudy, the black rhinoceros, will still be around for visitors to see.
