CINCINNATI (AP) — There’s a new mouth to feed to at Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. A full-term hippopotamus was born Wednesday night (Aug. 3, 2022). The baby is a sibling to Fiona, a hippo who became a global celebrity when she was born prematurely in 2017. The zoo’s animal care director says the baby looks huge because Fiona weighed only 29 pounds when she was born six weeks early. The zoo discovered the calf’s mother, 23-year-old Bibi, was pregnant around April Fool’s Day. It came as a surprise because Bibi was on birth control. Bibi and the yet to be named baby will spend the next two weeks bonding behind the scenes.
Below are links to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Facebook videos and screenshots from those videos.
Video 1: “This strong little hippo calf is doing well and staying close to Mom. You couldn’t ask for a more appropriate birthdate for a hippo – he/she was born on World Watermelon Day, one of their favorite treats and was also the way we announced the pregnancy.”
Video 2: “The newborn hippo has spent most of the day in the indoor pools with Bibi, exploring, resting and nursing, which is exactly what the hippo care team was hoping for. Hippos spend most of their lives in water and hippo calves even nurse underwater.”
Image is a screenshot of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden video.
Image is a screenshot of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden video.
Image is a screenshot of Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden video.
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