A proud mother hippo at Tianjin Zoo recently bid farewell to the 12th of her offspring.

The young hippo that has now settled in Tangshan Zoo in neighboring Hebei Province is one of the three grandchildren of "Qi'er", a highly productive mother hippo who has delivered 10 babies in Tianjin but only her third baby -- another productive she-hippo who has had three babies herself -- is still with her.

Qi'er, now 27 years old, moved to Tianjin from Kobe, Japan in 1979, zoo keepers say.

She weighs three tons but still is still nimble, says An Zhiqi,a zoo-worker who has been taking care of Qi'er for 24 years. "She has very rich facial expressions and enjoys communicating with people."

Qi'er does not seem too sad at her offspring being sent away. "She must be happy that her own children have brought happiness to people across the country," said An.

The little hippos have started new lives at zoos across the country, including the nation's capital Beijing, the icy northeastern city of Harbin and the southwestern municipality Chongqing.

Meanwhile, many other zoos across China have lined up for more baby hippos from Qi'er or her daughter, zoo keepers say.

In exchange for the hippos, Tianjin Zoo has welcomed zebras from Changchun in the northeastern Jilin Province, kangaroos from Nanjing in the eastern Jiangsu Province, and golden monkeys from Xi'an in the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

Tianjin Zoo is reputed as a breeding center for the African aquatic animal as its staff have gained rich experience over the years. Only one of the seven hippos born there over the past four years has died, said Han Kejia of the zoo management.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2003)