Fiona, the famous hippopotamus born prematurely at the Cincinatti zoo, is turning seven. Fiona is the daughter of Springfield’s most famous hippo, Henry.
Fiona was the first Nile hippo born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 75 years. She made her appearance six weeks early, weighing in at 29 pounds (baby hippos typically weigh around 50-100 pounds at birth). Because Fiona was so frail, zoo staffers began around-the-clock care. The worldwide attention grew, resulting in #TeamFiona merchandise.
On her seventh birthday, Fiona celebrated with melons and a birthday cake. The Zoo live-streamed the party, garnering 150,000 views in a matter of five hours.
Henry, Fiona’s father , was seven months old when he came to Dickerson Park Zoo in 1982. In late June 2016, Henry was moved to the Cincinnati Zoo in hopes he would breed with Bibi. The plan was successful and Henry became a father for the 6th time. In October 2016, Henry died at the age of 36 years old.