CINCINNATI — Keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden revealed Monday that the new hippopotamus calf born last week is a boy.
The new boy calf is the sibling of Fiona, a famous hippo who was born prematurely in 2017.
“We’re just happy that the calf is healthy. The sex didn’t matter much to the hippo team, but it will be interesting to observe and compare the behavioral differences between a hand-raised girl and a mom-raised boy,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s director of animal care, Christina Gorsuch. “Will this calf be as comfortable with humans as Fiona is? Will he be less independent? Will he love cameras?”
The hippo’s mother, 23-year-old Bibi, has been close to her newborn since its birth last week, so determining the sex was not immediate. The two will continue to bond for another week or two in privacy, but visitors to the zoo are still able to see two other hippos, Fiona and Tucker, the Cincinnati Zoo said.
“Bibi and the baby, yet to be named, will spend the next two weeks bonding behind the scenes,” said Gorsuch. “A female would take her newborn away from the bloat for about that amount of time in the wild, and we try to give Bibi the choice to do what feels natural to her.”
The zoo is looking for name suggestions for the baby hippo.
Submit your name idea here.