Haechan the pudu and April the giraffe were 2 I can think of.
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Cincinnati Zoo Hippos
- Thread starter RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe
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Haechan the pudu and April the giraffe were 2 I can think of.
Going back a bit further I'd put Knut the Polar bear in the same category. It seems like every now and then an animal comes up that captures the attention of the world. Fiona was famous due to her premature birth; but many of the others have been nothing extraordinary e.g. a giraffe giving birth (April).
Within Australasia, we've had a few - Mzuri the first IVF gorilla birth in 1984, Pathi Harn the miracle elephant in 2010 etc.
Great news to see the pregnancies progressing well.
Although expected, it's also good to know the fetus is growing at a natural rate.
This calf will undoubtedly be incredibly popular with public due to it being Fiona's younger sibling. With only a few weeks to go, I personally can't wait for this birth. Hopefully everything goes well.
It looks like all's on track for a successful birth.
Cincinnati will need to look at separating Fiona sooner rather than later from her mother given there's been incidence of hippopotami as young as two years of age killing their newborn siblings in zoos.
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I'd imagine the separation will probably occur within the next few weeks. There's no doubt Cincinnati have been preparing Fiona for this, although she'll still have Tucker for companionship.
After six months, Fiona could be introduced, and then eventually, Tucker too.
I'm sure the locals would be excited to see four hippos (including a calf) all in the enclosure together!
The pool is 70,000 galloons, not sure about the entire measurements, but it is a fairly small enclosure, especially for potentially four hippos.
It is very small, the outdoor space is approximately 3,300 sq ft.
Yea I feel like if they really wanna be in the baby business, the enclosure should be expanded.
Ok, dumb idea. What if they connected the enclosure to Painted Dog Valley, hippo-proofed the latter, and then, while the dogs are in their holding at night, the hippos can have it? I know hippos graze at night and carnivore enclosures are always lusher so it kinda makes sense.
However, I don't know about the logistics since I ain't a native
You can also renovate Elephant Reserve to have a bigger pool and underwater viewing
Ok, dumb idea. What if they connected the enclosure to Painted Dog Valley, hippo-proofed the latter, and then, while the dogs are in their holding at night, the hippos can have it? I know hippos graze at night and carnivore enclosures are always lusher so it kinda makes sense.
However, I don't know about the logistics since I ain't a native
You can also renovate Elephant Reserve to have a bigger pool and underwater viewing
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I agree, especially considering they plan to retain Fiona alongside Bibi. I think it would be much better (in the future) for them to send Bibi elsewhere and breed from Fiona. This is the best course spatial wise.
I’m not sure how viable Fiona will be as a breeder. She’s five years old so has theoretically finished growing, but is a similar size to a half grown two year old. It’d be surprising to see her continue to grow beyond this age and unless she does, it could be dangerous for her to deliver a normal sized calf (that’s if she could even carry it to term).
Long term, I think it’s preferable to continue breeding with Bibi or maintain a non breeding pod of Bibi, Fiona and sibling (if female).
It has been mentioned in numerous articles that the zoo wasn't sure whether she'll ever be able to breed due to her small size. It's unlikely she'll ever reach full grown size, and I would be surprised if she does. Most premature offspring are always much smaller animals, and most rarely survive birth.
It'll be hard to continue breeding from Bibi, and still having Fiona at Cincinati as four hippos is quite a lot for the small enclosure they have. Unless an extension occurs, I think it would be preferable in the future to retain Bibi and Fiona as a non breeding pair in the future - I think it'll be best for at least one of Bibi's offspring to go into a breeding situation elsewhere due to her being possibly genetically valuable.
Signs Common hippopotamus birth is imminent:
Cincinnati Zoo's Bibi nears labor. What we know about Fiona's mom
Tuesday evening, the zoo's hippo team said it was "cautiously waiting" for the arrival of Fiona's new sibling after Bibi showed signs of restlessness and wanted to be alone inside the hippo barn.
On Wednesday morning, the Cincinnati Zoo said it's unclear whether Bibi is in active labor. The hippo's 24-hour watch team said on Twitter she had a "normal" Tuesday night and that they would give her the opportunity to go outside Wednesday if she wanted.
Cincinnati Zoo's Bibi nears labor. What we know about Fiona's mom
Tuesday evening, the zoo's hippo team said it was "cautiously waiting" for the arrival of Fiona's new sibling after Bibi showed signs of restlessness and wanted to be alone inside the hippo barn.
On Wednesday morning, the Cincinnati Zoo said it's unclear whether Bibi is in active labor. The hippo's 24-hour watch team said on Twitter she had a "normal" Tuesday night and that they would give her the opportunity to go outside Wednesday if she wanted.
Bibi gave birth to a hippo calf at around 10pm last night! Both mom and baby are doing well.
Tucker and Fiona are (wisely) being kept seperate from Bibi and the calf. Fiona will presumably be introduced first when the calf is 4-6 months old.
Fiona is a big sister: Cincinnati zoo's hippo Bibi gives birth to second hippo baby
“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.”
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe
Well-Known Member
Though the zoo hasn't publicly announced the gender of the newborn hippo yet, Wikipedia states that the calf is female and I believe it.
Fiona (hippopotamus) - Wikipedia
Fiona (hippopotamus) - Wikipedia
Your link is broken.
Anyone can edit Wikipedia - they have a 50-50 chance obviously but I doubt it's an actual educated guess.
While the calf may well be female (the zoo haven’t confirmed either way), Wikipedia isn’t a reliable source in this case. The reference (18) to the calf being female was provided via this link (which like every other media release, does not state the gender of the calf): Fiona's a big sister. New baby hippo born at Cincinnati Zoo