Dallas Zoo Welcomes Birth of 'Much-Anticipated' Newborn Hippo

Dallas Zoo celebrated the birth of a “much-anticipated” newborn hippopotamus on Sunday, October 30, the zoo said.

Footage released by Dallas Zoo on November 7 shows the birth of the hippo as well as it playing with its mother. The newborn has not yet been named, according to the zoo.

The zoo said it had been closely monitoring the newborn’s mother, Boipelo, for several weeks as her birth window neared.

“Signs of labor started mid-afternoon that Sunday, and the team used cameras in the barn to keep tabs on Boipelo’s progress while allowing her to deliver the calf privately. Her labor progressed quickly and smoothly, as the team cheered Boipelo on from a distance,” Dallas Zoo said.

“The calf emerged strong and immediately came up for a breath of air, and then was swimming and active while mom watched on attentively.”

The zoo said both mother and baby are doing well and have been bonding behind the scenes. Credit: Dallas Zoo via Storyful

Video transcript

[NO SPEECH]