VIDEO NEWS RELEASE SAN DIEGO ZOO WELCOMES BIRTH OF BABY HIPPO

Tears and cheers erupt among Zoo guests watching as birth happens before their eyes

     A bouncing, baby hippo was born today (Wednesday, January 26, 2011) at the San Diego Zoo in front of about a hundred Zoo guests. Two okapis from the adjacent exhibit also strained to watch the event through a fence. The crowd had gathered during the two-hour labor of mother Funani.  At 11:30 a.m., Funani backed into the pool in her enclosure and soon a baby hippo, known as a calf, popped up in the water beside her.
     The crowd that had been urging her to "Push! Push!" gasped and cheered. Tears poured from the eyes of Karen Grupe, a visitor from Wisconsin. Her husband, Keith Grupe, said the family, which included three children, had waited an hour at the exhibit for this moment.
     "You saw her (Funani) fidgeting and fidgeting and all the sudden there was a baby in the water with her," he said. "It's the coolest thing you could ever see."
     His daughter, 10-year-old Rachel Grupe, gasped: "I cant wait to go home and tell my friends I saw a hippopotamus born!"
     The birth is something San Diego Zoo keepers have been hoping for. Two years ago, male hippo Otis, 36, came from the Los Angeles Zoo to meet Funani, 26, at the San Diego Zoo.  There were fireworks right away as the Hollywood hippo and Funani, who had been in the exhibit for more than a decade, struggled for dominance. But after a cooling-off period and re-introduction, they became an affectionate couple. Otis recently garnered national attention when a photo of him "smiling" went viral.
     Keepers began to see breeding between the two in April 2010. Typically, a hippo's gestation period lasts 8 months. Otis was taken off exhibit a few weeks ago because he has not fathered a calf at the San Diego Zoo and keepers did not know how he would react to a newborn. Funani is an experienced mother who had three babies with Jabba, the previous male hippo in the exhibit. Otis came to the Zoo in hopes of diversifying the hippo population.
     "Since June 2010, Funani has gained about 300 pounds," said Matt Akel, a San Diego Zoo animal care supervisor. At this point, the calf has not been named, keepers do not know its sex, and there are no plans for whether it will stay at the Zoo after it is weaned or be moved to another zoo for breeding purposes.
     The hippopotamus is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, known as the IUCN. The primary threats to hippos are illegal and unregulated hunting for meat and ivory (found in the canine teeth) and habitat loss. Hippos can still be found in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
     The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats. The organization focuses on conservation and research work around the globe, educates millions of individuals a year about wildlife and maintains accredited horticultural, animal, library and photo collections.  The Zoo also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo Safari Park (historically referred to as the Wild Animal Park), which includes a 900-acre native species reserve, and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.  The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by The Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego.