Fiona gets a sibling: Cincinnati Zoo welcomes new baby hippo

CINCINNATI (WKRC) — Fiona has a new sibling at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The zoo said a new baby hippo was born Wednesday night around 10 p.m.

Fiona's mom, 23-year-old Bibi, started acting differently Tuesday morning, showing signs "consistent with being in labor," according to the zoo. Staff discovered Bibiwas pregnant around April Fool’s Day, which came as a surprise since Bibi was on birth control.

“This calf looks huge to us because Fiona, Bibi’s first baby, only weighed 29 pounds when she was born six weeks premature and wasn’t able to stand on her own. This new calf weighs at least twice as much as Fiona did and is already walking," said Christina Gorsuch, Cincinnati Zoo’s director of animal care. “We’re not sure if nursing has occurred yet because the water is murky. It’s Bibi’s first time nursing, since Fiona had to be cared for by the hippo staff, so we’re keeping a close eye on them to make sure we don’t need to step in.”

Bibi and the new calf will be separated from Fiona and the calf's father, Tucker, for a while.

“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.”

According to the zoo, 5-year-old Fiona and 19-year-old Tucker have been getting along well and are happy to hang out with each other while Bibi bonds with the new calf.

Tucker came to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden from the San Francisco Zoo last September.

Fiona's father, Henry, died in 2017.