IPOH: Probably the first ever animal wedding held in the country, two hippos named Jiwang and Juwita finally "tied the knot" at the Hippo Kingdom in the Lost World of Tambun here yesterday.
The marriage ceremony of the 10-year-old Jiwang weighing about a tonne, and 21-year-old Juwita weighing 1.4 tonnes was held adopting a Malay wedding culture with about 100 people witnessing the ceremony.
The brief but memorable ceremony was graced with the bride and groom being brought in accompanied by the beating of kompang, while 'bunga manggar' and 'hantaran' were also provided, along with 'makan beradab'.
A funny moment was captured when Jiwang suddenly squeaked and ran out as soon as Juwita appeared from a different entrance, walking towards the pool where the couple were to meet.
The guests also received 'bunga telur' besides being served with a variety of wedding dishes including nasi minyak, ayam masak merah, spicy fried shrimp, beef curry, ikan percik and dessert during breaking fast.
Lost World of Tambun (LWOT) General Manager Nurul Nuzairi Mohd Azahari said they made the wedding preparations since November last year as it was not something easy to do.
"We needed to get an exhibit from the Perak Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) to enable the two to live together in the same enclosure as the hippo is a very aggressive and dangerous animal in Africa.
"We have also been looking for a mate for the past five years for Juwita since she was taken to the LWOT.
"It is not easy to find a mate for her because male rhinos cannot be of the same genetics, fearing it could cause future baby rhinos to be born deformed or unable to survive long," she told reporters.
Juwita was previously in Gaborone, Botswana, Africa before being brought here in 2001, while Jiwang is an 'alpha hippo' that was brought over from Pahang about three months ago.