The story of Bumpy, the baby hippo saved while trying to wake up his mother who had been dead for days: now he finds comfort in the rangers

When the rangers of the Kenya Wildlife Service arrived on the shores of Lake Oloiden, in the Naivasha territory of Kenya, they found themselves faced with a scene that was difficult to forget. Next to the lifeless body of a female hippopotamus was her cub, born just a few days old, who continued to push her with his snout in an attempt to get a response. The little boy, later named Bumpy, didn’t seem to understand what had happened. According to rescuers, he had remained next to his mother for over a day, completely alone and without any chance of surviving in the wild. The recovery was particularly complicated also from a logistical point of view: the cub refused to move away from its mother’s body and the rangers had to intervene with extreme caution to save it.

Hypotheses about the mother’s death

The causes of death are not yet certain. The Kenya Wildlife Service believes it is possible that the female died of natural causes, while the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which is currently caring for the cub, puts forward another hypothesis. According to the organization, the mother may have been killed during a territorial fight while trying to defend the baby. In the world of hippos, in fact, infanticide is considered relatively frequent during fights between adults. A detail that makes the story of Bumpy, who survived his first days of life in an extremely harsh environment, even more dramatic.

Warm milk, blankets and caretakers always by his side

After the rescue, the cub was initially transferred to Nairobi, where he spent his first night in safety. The caretakers gave him warm milk, wrapped him in a red blanket and stayed next to him to reassure him after the trauma he experienced. According to the sanctuary’s story, Bumpy immediately sought human contact, remaining “glued” to his rescuers from the first hours. The following day he was transported by helicopter to the center of Kaluku, near the Tsavo East National Park, a facility specialized in the care of orphaned wild animals.

New life in the Kaluku sanctuary

Today the little hippopotamus spends his days swimming in the pool, napping in the shade and constant attention from his keepers. In the sanctuary he is followed practically non-stop: when he enters the water, an assistant remains next to him the whole time. The images published online by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust quickly went around the world. In the videos, Bumpy is seen trotting, making small guttural noises, leaning on his keepers and sleeping curled up against them or on a large pouf that resembles his mother’s body. The cub currently lives near another young hippo called Musumbi, although the two are still kept apart. However, the final objective remains only one: to allow Bumpy to grow enough to one day return free to nature, along the Athi river, where several groups of wild hippos live.

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