The still-unnamed baby hippo celebrated his first month of life with a cake made with raw carrots, alfalfa, and oats that was ultimately ingested by his mother.
A baby river hippo of almost 50 kilos, an endangered species, is guarded and cared for at the Guadalajara Zoo in Mexico and is the main attraction.
The still-unnamed baby hippo celebrated its first month of life this Thursday, July 29, 2021, with a cake made with raw carrots, alfalfa, and oats that was ingested by its mother, the hippo named Tami.
The caretaker of these animals, Alma Ortega Flores, explained that the little hippo is breastfed during the first eight months of life, although around six months it becomes completely independent of its mother.
The little hippo was born in captivity with eight months of gestation and in a process of childbirth in water. This is the third calf for Tami and Tartufo, one of the male hippos at this zoo.
During the first days, the caregivers had to carry the food to the water, since the mother preferred to breastfeed and sleep with her little one, who is described as a very restless baby, who likes to explore the space in which he lives and scare away the pigeons that get there.
The baby tends to play and run away during mealtime from its mother who goes to look for it and reprimands it with a loud growl until the little one returns to her.
Visitors come to see the little baby hippopotamus and delight in the interaction with its mother or its movements out of the water clapping and taking photos.
The little hippopotamus is about to reach 50 kilos in weight, but in its adulthood, it will weigh between a ton and a half and three tons and eat at least two kilos a day of cereals, alfalfa, carrots, and special food.
This species is in a vulnerable situation, that is, there is a low population of specimens due to poaching.
Source: YouTube
The Guadalajara Post
