Funani, a mother hippopotamus at the San Diego Zoo, gave birth to a calf on March 23, 2015. Her adorable baby hippo has spent the first week of its life nursing and learning to swim. While zoo staff have been giving Fuanani and her calf plenty of room to bond and nurse, they’ve made sure to share some videos of the baby toddling around in the water.
Mom and baby are doing fine and animal care staff witnessed the calf nursing on several occasions. Funani, who is 30 years old, has raised four other hippos at the San Diego Zoo – three females and most recently a male, named Adhama, born January 26, 2011. The sex of the newest calf has not yet been determined, as keepers and vets have not been able to get a close enough look at the animal.
Hippo calves are estimated to weigh about 50 pounds at birth and they typically nurse for about eight months. The baby will likely stay very close to Funani during the first several weeks.
via Boing Boing
