14 DAY TRIAL // A baby hippo born at Whipsnade Zoo in the United Kingdom about five weeks ago recently got the chance to go exploring the public pool its old folks are all too familiar with for the first time ever.
Zoo employees kept a close eye on the baby hippo throughout the entire experience, and say that, although it took a while for it to build up courage to plunge in the water, it eventually worked up the nerve to do so.
Zoo Borns reports that the calf was born at said facility last year, on December 11. Its caretakers strongly suspect that it is a girl, but have not yet been able to confirm it.
However, they have decided to nickname the baby hippo Nelly, and even refer to it as “she.”
The calf was born to mother Lola and dad Hoover, and it is their second offspring together. Not at all surprisingly, it is very active and appears quite interested in keeping tabs on the things happening around it.
“She’s extremely playful and inquisitive and loves nothing more than watching what’s going on around her,” keeper Steve White explains.
“She was standing and suckling just an hour after she was born, and mum’s been doing a brilliant job really helping her to thrive,” he adds.