A brand-new baby hippopotamus was born at the San Diego Zoo, officials announced Tuesday.
The hippo was born around 6:30 a.m. Monday and is doing well, Jenny Mehlow of San Diego Zoo Global said. Keepers have been observing the newborn and its mother, Funani, and the calf has already nursed several times, Mehlow said.
For now, the calf will be staying very close to its mother since baby hippos typically nurse for about eight months.
Mehlow said this is the fifth calf raised by Funani at the San Diego Zoo. She has birthed 11 calves since 1989. Her mate is Otis, an adult male hippo brought to the San Diego Zoo from the Los Angeles Zoo in 2009 specifically to breed with Funani.
Last March, Funani gave birth to another baby hippo. Sadly, that calf died just days after its birth.
Mehlow said this newborn has had no issues thus far. The zoo's animal care staff is watching both the baby and Funani closely.
The San Diego Zoo says the river hippopotamus is a threatened species. The zoo’s first hippopotamus was born at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago in July 1935 and arrived in San Diego in August 1936, becoming the first hippo to be exhibited by a zoo on the West Coast, according to the zoo website.
In 1940, hippos Rube and Ruby arrived in San Diego from the Calcutta Zoo in India. Together, the pair had 11 offspring, helping the exhibit grow. Ruby and Rube died in 1982 and 1988, respectively.
Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo