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So hippo to see you!

An adorable baby hippopotamus met his older sister for the first time while frolicking underwater in an enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.

A video clip posted online by the zoo shows 3-week-old Fritz eagerly waddling into Hippo Cove ahead of lumbering mom Bibi on Wednesday.


  Fritz is seen on camera. Cincinnati Zoo Fritz is seen on camera. Cincinnati Zoo

  Cute footage shows 3-week-old hippo Fritz meeting his older sister, Fiona, at the Cincinnati Zoo. Cincinnati Zoo Cute footage shows 3-week-old hippo Fritz meeting his older sister, Fiona, at the Cincinnati Zoo. Cincinnati Zoo

Older sister Fiona, 5, appeared curious when Fritz approached but followed cues from their mother and backed away before the Nile hippo calf was able to bump noses with her, the zoo said.

“This first intro went very well,” said Christina Gorsuch, the zoo’s director of animal care.

“Bibi was appropriately protective of Fritz but was not aggressive toward Fiona. The exposure was brief but a great first step.”

Fritz was born Aug. 3 following what the zoo said in April was an unexpected pregnancy while Bibi was on birth control medication.

“We weren’t planning to welcome a baby this soon, but nature found a way and ignored our calendar,” Gorsuch said at the time.

Fritz’s dad, Tucker, was acquired from the San Francisco Zoo in September.

Zookeepers want to make sure that Fiona, Fritz and Bibi are comfortable together before allowing Tucker to join the hippo clan, known as a “bloat.”


  Zookeepers were surprised to hear about Bibi’s pregnancy this past April Fool’s day on April 1, 2022. Liz Dufour/Cincinnati Enquirer / USA Today Network/Sipa USA Zookeepers were surprised to hear about Bibi’s pregnancy this past April Fool’s day on April 1, 2022. Liz Dufour/Cincinnati Enquirer / USA Today Network/Sipa USA

  Fritz bumped heads with his older sister, Fiona. Cincinnati Zoo Fritz bumped heads with his older sister, Fiona. Cincinnati Zoo

It’s unclear when that will happen and Hippo Cove will be closed to the public — with its live cams turned off — to give the creatures privacy during future introductions, the zoo said.

Hippos, which weigh up to 8,000 pounds each, are the world’s heaviest land animals other than elephants.

In the wild, they live in and around the lakes and rivers of sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated population of no more than 130,000, according to the World Wildlife Fund.


  23-year-old hippo Bibi gave birth to Fritz on August 3, 2022. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden via AP 23-year-old hippo Bibi gave birth to Fritz on August 3, 2022. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden via AP

  Zookeepers hope 3-week-old Fritz can interact with the rest of the hippo clan. USA TODAY NETWORK/Sipa USA Zookeepers hope 3-week-old Fritz can interact with the rest of the hippo clan. USA TODAY NETWORK/Sipa USA

The species is listed as vulnerable to extinction by the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature, which says the animals’ primary threats to survival are loss of habitat to real estate development and poachers who kill them for meat and ivory.

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