Local News
By Addison Burke, Sports Editor
Cincinnati’s second favorite hippo, Fritz, celebrated his second birthday on Aug. 3. Fritz is the half-brother of world-famous hippo, Fiona, who was born prematurely in 2017 and was the first Nile hippo to be born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 75 years.
Fritz made his first public appearance at the zoo two weeks after being born, becoming the new star of the hippo cove. He quickly became a favorite of guests, filling the zoo with his spunky personality and his energy, especially when it came to chasing Fiona around the cove.
Members of the Cincinnati Zoo staff were informed that Bibi was pregnant again on April Fool’s Day this past April, and many believed it was a joke since Bibi had been on birth control. When Bibi was going through the second pregnancy, zoo staff did as much as they could in order to ensure a full-term pregnancy. Bibi luckily made it to full term with Fritz and there were no complications present during his birth.
Fiona the Hippo enjoys a little swim at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Fritz was born on National Watermelon day which is very fitting as watermelon is one of hippos favorite foods. Adult hippos can hold their breath for about five minutes underwater, so you can often see the hippo swimming around the water or running about on the land in the cove.
The bloat can be seen every day at the hippo cove of the Cincinnati Zoo, but as the weather begins to get colder, they won’t be seen outside as much as they will be taking in the heat of their indoor enclosure.
Before Fritz joined the party, Fiona received all the attention of guests visiting the hippo cove. Fiona was born on Jan. 24, 2017, six weeks before her mother Bibi’s intended due date.
She weighed only 29 pounds compared to the 100 pounds hippos are supposed to be when born. Due to her very low weight, she was unable to stand on her own, requiring zookeepers to bottle feed her instead of feeding from Bibi. Fiona got her name because her ears resembled those of Fiona from Shrek.
As of Feb. 2024, she now weighs 2,500 pounds. She is a bit behind the expected weight for a seven-and-a-half-year-old hippo, but this is not unexpected as she has faced some developmental delays since her birth.
