Ramat Gan, Home of Happy Hippos

The Ramat Gan Safari hippo lake has been home for many years to a large herd of animals and many birds. Over time, the water level in the lake dropped and its floor became very muddy and full of hippo droppings.

Those can really add up: some parts of the lake got as shallow as half a meter where it was once three meters deep.

Last year, Safari General Manager Yehuda Bar decided that it was time to deepen the lake. It took a bulldozer a few days to dig out and remove huge amounts of mud, which were transferred to the south side of the African Park. During this time, the hippos remained in a smaller area of the lake where there was enough water

Now that the lake floor has been deepened and filled with fresh water, the hippos could go back to wallow in it.