Operation Relocate Chunkywon has already reached its next phase with the lonely hippo getting his own motel in anticipation of his big move!
Undisclosed Location (14 June 2024) — Last month, we were all introduced to Chunkywon, the lonely hippo whose quest for a mate led him to a farmer’s private dam and, later, a rescue mission in the making. Now, Operation Relocate Chunkywon has reached its next phase with the big lad getting his own ‘motel’ in anticipation of his big move.
In case you missed it, Chunkywon (a young male hippo) hopped onto the Owl Rescue Centre’s radar in May and soon became a cause for the wildlife community to rally behind after it was understood that this hippo needed a relocation operation!
Because there are no female hippos in the farmer’s dam, the ORC team understood that it’d be very likely that Chunkywon would continue wandering (and essentially become a moving target) until he finds the lucky lady he’s looking for. Young male hippos will go to great lengths to find their females, and so it was understood that this was probably far from the end of his roaming.
With this in mind, the ORC team sought out community support to fund the relocation effort (for his safety) which was met with open arms by wildlife lovers.
Now, Chunkywon’s ‘motel’ (a relocation container fit for a hippo) has successfully been built. But how to get it to the farm when the Hartebeesport rescue centre is a reasonable distance (around 50 kms) away? Well, thanks kind offer from Tanja Sellak Gomes-Sebastiao to sponsor a truck to transport the motel to the farm, Chunkywon’s next adventure could soon be underway!
Meanwhile in other wholesome wildlife news, baby Binti the adorable orphan rhino has celebrated a mini milestone—turning 3-months-old! You can read all about the brave little trooper here.