CINCINNATI -- You've seen the pictures, and you must have no soul if the weirdly cute premature hippopotamus calf Fiona at the Cincinnati Zoo doesn't send you into fits of giggles.
Baby Fiona had more energy Thursday morning and showed some suckling response, the zoo announced on its blog. Since her birth on Jan. 24, she's been receiving round-the-clock care from zoo specialists, who received a care package from the premature baby team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital including signed superhero capes, a pre-filled baby book, a stuffed hippo, a beautiful note and more.
We know day care for our own children doesn't come cheap, so imagine the costs of caring for a rare wild animal with special needs. That's why the zoo suggests that anybody wishing to help should visit its website here to make a donation to baby Fiona.
Vets determined that Fiona was too weak to stand to nurse from mom, Bibi, when she arrived six weeks early. She is being cared for in close proximity to mom and dad, Henry, so they can hear and smell each other, zoo officials said. Fiona weighed 29 pounds when she was born, which is about 25 pounds lighter than the lowest recorded birth weight for this species. The normal range is 55 to 120 pounds.
Click here to view a gallery of the baby hippo.
