September 5, 2023
BANGKOK – Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi’s Si Racha district is getting ready to celebrate the 58th birthday of Mae Mali, the oldest hippopotamus in Thailand, with festivities running from Friday to Sunday (September 8-10).
Zoo director Tawin Rattanawongsawat said on Sunday that she will be served a hippo-sized cake filled with her favourite vegetables and fruits including watermelon, carrot, sweet potato and dragonfruit on Friday.
Visitors, especially children, are invited to celebrate the lady by singing ‘Happy Birthday’.
Many activities will be organised during three-day event, such as an exhibition of Mae Mali’s history, games and souvenir handouts for visitors who share her birthday.
Thailand received Mae Mali from Tilburg Zoo in the Netherlands when she was 1 year old on June 8, 1967. She was cared for at Dusit Zoo in Bangkok before it was closed down on September 30, 2018, to make way for royal projects.
Mae Mali was transferred to Khao Kheow Open Zoo on December 18, 2018.