NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A pair of water-loving pigs with rust-colored fur and floppy, tasseled ears are moving into the spot where the Audubon Zoo’s last hippo spent most of its 44 years.
Matthew and Isabel are red river hogs native to rivers in West Africa. The 3-year-old animals, acquired from the Denver Zoo, go on exhibit Saturday in the first major new exhibit at Audubon since Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.
Their new home had been occupied by Tony the hippopotamus until his death in May 2005.
Zoo officials decided against getting another hippo.
 
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