ENTERTAINMENT

Fiona takes a nap in the shower

Shauna Steigerwald
ssteigerwald@enquirer.com
Fiona the baby hippo mugging for the camera.

Fiona the hippo starts her mornings off much like most people do: She weighs in, eats breakfast and … hits the shower?

OK, that last one isn’t part of her regular routine. But the Cincinnati Zoo's premature baby hippo added it one recent morning.

The weigh-in, to keep tabs on the premature baby hippo's increasing weight, happens every morning. So does the breakfast eating – well, drinking, as she takes in approximately 60 ounces of formula to start the day.

After that, though, Fiona's caretakers let her decide what comes next as she explores the hippo-proof parts of the building with a chaperone. Recently, she walked into the shower that the zoo's divers use and stood there. Knowing that hippos like to be wet, her caregiver turned on the water. Fiona used it as a chance to play – until she got tired and decided to take a nap with the water running. (Because she can.)

For background, Fiona was born six weeks premature and weighed only 29 pounds, much lower than the recorded birth weight range for her species (55-120 pounds). Because she was unable to nurse from her mother, zoo staff has been caring for her since her Jan. 24 birth.

Read more about Fiona:

Feeding Fiona: The science behind milking a hippo

Happy Hippo Day, Fiona

Fiona caption contest results are in and they're hilarious

Water play time is helping Fiona the hippo grow up

Hippo baby Fiona is movin' on up