City mourn death of famous Rondevlei hippo

THE City of Cape Town has said that it is sad about the passing of Brutus, Rondevlei’s first and famous hippo.

- BY THEOLIN TEMBO

Brutus arrived at Rondevlei in November 1981, and was the first hippo to be reintroduced into the Western Cape in 300 years.

He passed away last week at the age of 47 years, and was still producing offspring until recently.

Staff from the False Bay Nature Reserve were busy with routine patrols when they discovered the dead hippo bull in the Rondevlei section of the reserve on Thursday morning, 13 November 2025.