CINCINNATI -- She might not have molars yet, but that’s not stopping Fiona from nomming away on her first taste of hay.
The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s baby hippo is absolutely loving her first taste of vegetation food that was actually pre-chewed by her mother, Bibi.
GALLERY: See Fiona's progress
According to the zoo, Bibi’s saliva helps expose Fiona’s gut to good and healthy bacteria to help her digest.
Fiona has foam around her mouth in the video as she chews, and it’s from saliva. Since she doesn’t have her molars yet, the extra saliva her body is producing helps her swallow and digest.
That’s why she’s able to, adorably, finish the food put in front of her.
Fiona was born six weeks early on Jan. 24 and only weighed 29 pounds, about 25 pounds lighter than the lowest recorded birth weight for this species.
Since then, she’s had some setbacks, but continues to grow and was reportedly taken off oxygen treatments on Monday. She's now over 80 pounds.
Here are some other cute Fiona videos from this week that you'll love:
