The new baby hippo born last week at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio is a boy, the zoo announced Monday.
Bibi the hippo gave birth on Wednesday night, and her calf is the younger brother of Fiona, who became an international celebrity after being born six weeks prematurely in 2017.
“We are happy that the puppy is healthy. Gender doesn’t matter much to the hippo team, but it will be interesting to observe and compare the behavioral differences between a girl raised by a human and a boy raised by her mother,” said Christina Gorsuch, director of animal care at the Cincinnati Zoo, in a statement.
“Will this pup be as comfortable with humans as Fiona? Will it be less independent? Will he love cameras?”
Fiona’s weight was a record low weight for a hippo, but she managed to survive with lots of human help from the zoo’s care team. Fiona now weighs around 1,300 pounds (approximately 600 kg).
The zoo is asking the public for their ideas for naming the newborn baby hippo. Name suggestions can be submitted online.
“This puppy looks huge to us because Fiona, Bibi’s first baby, weighed just 11kg when she was born six weeks premature and couldn’t stand on her own,” Gorsuch said. “This new puppy weighs at least twice as much as Fiona and is already walking.”
The Cincinnati Zoo said Bibi and her baby hippo will remain “out of the habitat” for at least the next two weeks to bond.
Source: CNN Brasil
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