The hippo was recorded by a security camera as she left the zoo through one of the main gates, to the astonishment of a local guard. Then, after a short while, she was seen returning slowly and hesitantly into the park in the central Israeli city of Ramat Gan.
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Zoo keeper Mor Kaduri-Porat told Reuters that the hippo tasted the grass outside her usual living area before returning to the safari.
Three years ago three female rhinos also managed to flee the safari zoo after one of the security guards fell asleep.