Khao Kheow Open Zoo is preparing a birthday celebration for Mae Mali, the hippopotamus believed to be the longest-living hippo in captivity in the world, as she turns 61 on September 8.
Zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi announced the event on September 2, saying celebrations will begin at 9.30am at the hippo exhibit at the zoo in Si Racha district, Chon Buri.
Visitors can expect an exhibition on Mae Mali’s life story, games with souvenir prizes, and the chance to write birthday cards with personal messages for her.
The main highlight will be a large fruit cake presented to Mae Mali, followed by a group singing of “Happy Birthday” among staff, visitors and fans.
The zoo has invited tourists and fans to join the celebration and share their well wishes for the hippo, who has remained a public favourite at Khao Kheow for many years.
Mae Mali was born on September 9, 1965, at Cologne Zoo in Germany before moving to the Netherlands and later to Thailand’s Dusit Zoo in Bangkok in 1967.
She was relocated to Khao Kheow Open Zoo after Dusit Zoo’s animals were transferred to sites around the country in 2018.
She marked her 60th birthday last year with a three-day festival at the zoo, and has also become known in recent years as the mother of Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo whose viral popularity in 2024 drew tens of thousands of extra visitors to Khao Kheow.
For more information, visitors can contact the zoo’s public relations department on 038 318 444.
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