Photograph of Obaysch (c.1849-78) the hippopotamus taken in London Zoo. Obaysch lies down, facing left, his legs pointed towards the camera. There is water in the foreground and the bars of the enclosure, the Hippopotamus House, can be seen in the background.
Obaysch was London Zoo's first hippopotamus. He arrived at London Zoo on 25 May 1850. He proved to be very popular and attracted up to 10,000 visitors to the Zoo every day, with visitor numbers doubling for the year 1850.
Photograph is from a set of 43 photographs (2905515-2905557) of animals at London Zoo
