Patna, Sep.14: The birth of a baby hippo at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park past Monday night (September 10) has spread a wave of cheer among animal lovers and zoo officials here.

Authorities at the Sanjay Gandhi Botanical Park, popularly known as Patna Zoo, said that the baby hippo and its mother were in a healthy condition.

The newborn has been attracting scores of visitors, especially children and women, to the zoo. Visitors are watching the newborn remaining close to its mother and spending most of the time inside the pool at the zoo.  

"The moment we heard about the birth of new hippo at the zoo, we rushed to have a glimpse. Most of the time, the baby remains in the water and seldom comes out. It's a attractive sight to see the baby wallowing in the water," said Bhupinder Kumar Singh, a visitor.

"I felt very nice after watching the hippopotamus. It looks very cute. We are watching such a small hippo for the first time in the park," said Mohammed Feroz, another visitor.

Authorities at Zoo, meanwhile, are delighted over the birth that has increased the total number of hippos at the zoo to five.

"The birth holds importance for us and we feel really happy with its (hippo’s) birth," said Subhash Verma, Deputy Director of Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park in Patna.

"The mother hippo gave birth inside the water. The baby is healthy and takes milk regularly. Its birth has been really encouraging for all of us," Verma said.  

The Botanical part of the park has more than 300 species of trees, herbs and shrubs. It has a nursery of medicinal plants, an orchid house, a fern house, a glass house, a rose garden and a number of grass lawns.

The zoo has more than 70 species of animals. These include tiger, lion, leopard, clouded leopard, rhino, hippo, crocodile, Himalayan bear, lion tailed macaque, leopard cat, hog deer, zebra, emu, white peacock and others. There are more than 800 animals in the zoo.

This park also has an Aquarium and a Snake House. The aquarium has about 35 species of fish and is the maximum revenue earner for the park after the gate entry fee. Snake house has 32 snakes belonging to 5 species. (With Inputs from ANI)