Baby hippo who became social media star now a big sister

By Danny Halpin via SWNS

A hippo has given birth to a new baby - despite being on birth control.

The as-yet unnamed female baby weighed in at over 57 pounds and was born at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Her sister, named Fiona, became a huge star on social media when she was born prematurely weighing only 29 pounds.

Their mom Bibi, who is is 23, got pregnant in April despite being on birth control.

Five years ago she gave birth to Fiona, who drew thousands of well-wishers on social media after her premature birth meant she had to be nursed by the zoo’s staff.

Christina Gorsuch, the zoo’s director of animal care said: “This calf looks huge to us because Fiona, Bibi’s first baby, only weighed 29 pounds (13 kg) 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.

“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 hippo staff, so we’re keeping a close eye on them to make sure we don’t need to step in.”

Staff noticed a change in Bibi’s behavior two days ago. She was restless outside and wanted to go indoors and stay there, indicating that she was going into labor.

Gorsuch said: “Bibi and the baby, yet to be named, will spend the next two weeks bonding behind the scenes.

“A female would take her newborn away from the bloat (the collective noun for hippos) for about that amount of time in the wild and we try to give Bibi the choice to do what feels natural to her.”

Fiona’s birth in 2017 spawned countless memes as thousands of people followed her progress on social media.

It is not the first time Cincinnati Zoo has been the source of memes.

In 2016, a three-year-old boy fell into the enclosure of Harambe the gorilla, who was shot and killed by zookeepers who feared for the boy’s life.