Two hungry, hungry hippos polished off a 350-pound pumpkin like a piece of cake.
New West resident Scott Loewen recently delivered a giant pumpkin to the Greater Vancouver Zoo. While the original plan had been to feed the giant gourd to Theodore the Rhinoceros, zoo staff decided it would be better to feed it to its two hippopotamus’s – sisters Hazina, 19, and Habey, 17.
“They felt maybe 350 pounds of pumpkin might be too much for Theo the rhino, so they switched it to the girls,” he said.
Zoo staff delivered the pumpkin to the hippos’ home while the animals were in their pond. Soon, the two 3,800-pound hippos began gorging on the giant gourd.
Loewen said one of the hippos was more interested in the pumpkin than the other was, but both enjoyed the meal of pumpkin – served with a side of apples and hay.
“It was strangely satisfying watching them slowly and effortlessly rip Kamala apart,” he said. “Pumpkin juice was dripping from her mouth, and the jaws were just enormous! We were about 20 feet away with a great view.”
Loewen named this year’s pumpkin Kamala – the Ugandan Giant in honour of his favourite wrestling character from the 1980s.
“Ironically, the wrestler’s billed weight was close to 350 pounds as well,” he noted.
According to the Greater Vancouver Zoo, hippos graze on grasses and low-hanging fruit. Native to Sub-Saharan Africa, hippos are semi-aquatic and must live near a water source, so they’re typically found near rivers and shallow lakes.
Each year, Loewen grows a giant pumpkin in the yard of his Sapperton home and attempts to cross an item off his pumpkin bucket list. This year’s pumpkin wasn’t as large as those he’s grown in past years – but it was perfect for the hippos.
In 2021, Loewen recruited carver Bruce Waugh to carve “Goliath” (a 560-pound pumpkin) for Halloween. Last year, he transported his 500-pound pumpkin, Jabba, to Buntzen Lake in Anmore, where he scooped out the insides, donned pirate attire, hopped inside and took Jabba out on the lake for a little paddle.
