We are in love with the baby hippo born Monday at the San Diego Zoo
We have a serious, serious problem. A video was released by the San Diego Zoo of a brand new baby hippo playing with his (or her) mama, and it is so freaking adorable, we haven’t been able to get anything done today, aside from watching this video over and over again. So yeah, it’s a problem we’re dealing with — but a really good, hippopotamus related one!
Let’s backtrack. A baby hippo was born at the San Diego Zoo on Monday, and all is right in the world — at least for baby hippo and mama hippo. The zoo put out a Vine of the calf and mama playing in the water, and it’s too cute for words. Seriously, we have no more words. Just see for yourself:
It’s the teeniest, most adorable thing we’ve ever seen.
San Diego Zoo spokesperson Jenny Mehlow told LAist that the keepers are giving baby and mom space to bond, so they haven’t been able to check the calf’s sex and weight yet. The keepers do however, know that things are progressing the way they should, because they’ve observed the calf nursing. “It’s a good sign everything’s going well between mom and baby,” Mehlow said. FYI, baby hippos typically nurse for about eight months.
This isn’t the first calf for 30-year-old hippo mom Funani. In fact, this newborn is so far the fifth surviving baby she’s given birth to at the zoo (one calf sadly died four days after it was born in 2014).
As for the hippo dad, that’s Otis and he’s hanging solo in another pool while mom and baby get to know each other. In 2009, Otis was brought from the Los Angeles Zoo to the San Diego Zoo so he could breed with Funani, which was necessary to aid in the survival of the vulnerable hippos. You may remember one of their other hippo kids (Adhama), the calf they had together in 2011, from his Youtube stardom as the baby hippo ballet dancer:
We’re so happy for this hippo family, and can’t wait to hear more about how everyone’s doing!
Featured image via
