Baby hippo makes a big entrance at the Berlin Zoo
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The Berlin Zoo welcomed a baby hippopotamus in late November, the first hippo calf born there in three years. She’s pictured here swimming with her mother, Kathi, during her zoo debut last month.
The calf, Paula, weighs about 40kg at present, but will eventually tip the scales at up to two tons! The Daily Mail reports:
Contrary to belief, adult hippos cannot actually swim - but travel through the water by pushing themselves off the bottom. Paula, on the other hand, is rather more buoyant and able to move along by kicking her back legs in a running motion. If the water becomes too deep, then she will rest on her mother’s back - surfacing for air roughly every four minutes.
Looks like the zoo’s most famous resident, Knut, has some competition in the adorable department!
--Lindsay Barnett
Top photo: Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images.
Bottom photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images.