Mahali, the Denver Zoo’s beloved hippo, will stay in the Mile High City for the holidays

Mahali the Denver Zoo s beloved Nile hippopotamus will stay in the Mile High City a little longer than expected Zoo authorities in July disclosed that the hippo would be transferred to a natural wildlife preserve in Texas following an inspection by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that noted important upgrade necessities for the animal s habitat But this week the zoo explained Mahali made it known to his care band that he was not quite ready for this move administrators explained on its website The group is now planning to continue the hippo s crate training until his departure in the spring Hippos specifically require ample time to prepare for change and a move as important as Mahali s has had to progress at his pace zoo executives reported From an animal well-being perspective care teams have known that they would advance only as Mahali was ready Old Pachyderms the building that has housed Mahali and dozens of other hippos rhinos and elephants since demands substantial updates and is no longer considered suitable for the species the zoo association s inspection determined Related Articles Cute nose long tongue Here s which Denver Zoo mom is expecting a baby in early Denver campaign to save flavored tobacco ban gets million more from Michael Bloomberg Denver s new lion cubs are almost ready to meet their fans Beloved Denver Zoo orangutan and single dad Berani euthanized Denver Zoo delays plan for a second entrance still gathering feedback The zoo is aware that the building would not pass future inspections without substantial upgrades functionaries reported in a blog post The Denver zoo also cited the hippo s high water usage as a factor in its decision to move Mahali to Texas Current operations consume nearly million gallons of water annually accounting for more than one-quarter of the zoo s total water usage last year It costs nearly to maintain the habitat each year leaders declared Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter