Dallas Zoo Hippo Gives Birth to Healthy Baby Months After Mate's Death

The legacy of the Dallas Zoo's male hippo will live on thanks to the birth of a new baby months after his death.Boipelo, a 12-year-old Nile hippopotamus, gave birth about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after eight months of gestation and seven hours of labor. A couple of hours later, the calf — whose gender has not been determined — was nursing."We timed Boipelo's contractions every moment she barrel-rolled in the water, and after about 100 rolls, we saw a baby emerge," Matt James, the zoo's senior director of animal care, said in a written statement. "The baby immediately began moving and kicking and Boipelo swiftly nudged it to ledge of the pool, where the baby sprawled out and took a break."  Continue reading...