Hippo mama Bibi gave birth six weeks early Jan. 24, 2017, to the first Nile hippo born at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in 75 years. No one could’ve imagined what a stir this underdeveloped, 29-pound baby would cause.
Jenna Wingate, senior keeper, was on the early arrival’s watch that night.
“I was terrified,” Wingate said. “She didn’t look real. Her feet were waxy, she was so small. She was so weak, she was hardly moving.”
Wingate feared the worst for this baby hippo whose name would become Fiona, but together, they got through the night.
A week later, the tiny calf was still receiving 24-hour care from a small group of keepers who’d named her Fiona, or “fair,” a perfect fit, the team said, for a “fair little girl.”
Now 8 years old, Fiona is an adult. She is still small in stature and length, and she has a narrow face, Wingate said. But she is a little chubby for that small size, at 2,400 pounds. She’s going on a diet, for now, to protect her health.
Tiny Fiona was a big zoo star from the start, receiving loads of love and care from staff and the community. Cincinnati Children’s nurses even cared for her in the early days. And later her impact was evidenced through a trove of Fiona books, Rookwood Pottery keepsakes, T-shirts and so much more.
Fiona thrives on attention from humans, hippos alike
You might wonder whether, after all that human attention, Fiona is a real hippo – one that knows who she is – or if she sees herself as human, too.
No worries, Wingate said.
“Fiona definitely knows how to be a hippo.”
She submits to Bibi when she’s signaled to do so, she knows her place with her mother and the family, now that baby brother Fritz is in the mix. And she does all the right hippo things.
She certainly has been affected by her human hand-raising, however.
“She loves humans too,” Wingate said
And even as she’s grown in her place with the bloat, Fiona has characteristics that are unique to her among the hippos – a direct result of being a world-known superstar.
“If she sees a larger camera,” Wingate said, “she will purposefully go towards it and, essentially, pose.” The other hippos don’t seem to even notice cameras or that behavior from Fiona.
Will Fiona ever leave the Cincinnati Zoo?
Hippos sometimes travel among zoos, but the Cincinnati Zoo plans to keep Fiona in Cincinnati unless something “very drastic” and unforeseen happens, Wingate said.
While at home in Cincinnati, her zoo crew happily deals daily with her fandom.
And Fiona’s fame has benefited much more than the zoo, its animals and conservation efforts at home.
The zoo’s proceeds from a Fiona-inspired program, Hangin’ with the Hippos, go to conservationists who help struggling hippos in the wild. In this way, Fiona has done what few animals can, Wingate said.
“She has literally saved hippos from starvation in the wild.”
This story was republished to add a link to related coverage.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The Fiona effect: Cincinnati Zoo’s famous hippo still has an impact as an adult
Reporting by Terry DeMio, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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