Europe’s oldest hippo Camilla gives birth to her 15th calf in Italy

At nearly 55, Camilla has become a mother again. The common hippopotamus, described as Europe’s oldest, gave birth to her 15th calf at Natura Viva Park in Bussolengo, near Verona in northern Italy.

The 2,500-kilogram mother and her 50-kilogram calf are living with the park’s hippo group and a herd of nyala antelope. At just 10 days old, the calf has begun taking its first steps outside the pond to follow Camilla.

The park is keeping visitors away from the newborn for the next few weeks as a precaution. The birth is also being presented as a conservation milestone because the hippopotamus is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. The calf is the only one born in Italy in the past five years.

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She has been with us for fifty years, following the park’s entire evolution from its early years to today, and we have already seen her raise 14 calves with impeccable dedication.

Camilla has lived at the park since 1976 and has exceeded the usual life expectancy for her species. After an eight-month pregnancy, she gave birth naturally in the water and stayed there for the first three days, until the calf could follow her to the surface.

“She has been with us for fifty years, following the park’s entire evolution from its early years to today, and we have already seen her raise 14 calves with impeccable dedication,” said Camillo Sandri, the park’s zoological director. “But at this age, already beyond a hippo’s life expectancy, nobody would ever have thought she could still reproduce.”

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But at this age, already beyond a hippo’s life expectancy, nobody would ever have thought she could still reproduce.