IN JAPAN, 12-YEAR-OLD 'MALE' HIPPO FOUND TO BE FEMALE AFTER SEVEN YEARS (VIDEO)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — A zoo in Osaka, Japan has after seven years found that its male hippopotamus is actually a female.

According to the Osaka Tennoji Zoo's website, the zoo conducted a DNA test after zookeepers noticed that the hippo called Gen-chan did not show typical male hippo behaviour.

The 12-year-old arrived in Osaka from Mexico in 2017 when she was five and customs documents at that time declared she was a male.

The statement said Gen-chan first arrived at their zoo from the African Safari Animal Park in Mexico when she was five and her reproductive organ could not be visually confirmed.

“The zookeepers, however, got suspicious as the hippo got older and could not visually identify male reproductive organs.

“We will keep doing our best to provide a comfortable environment to Gen-chan,” read the statement.

A spokeswoman for the zoo told AFP that typical male hippo behaviour that Gen-chan was not displaying included making courtship calls to female hippos, or scattering faeces around while defecating with a propeller-like tail motion to mark territory.

The zoo also decided not to change the hippo's name due to the discovery.

2024-04-25T06:20:30Z dg43tfdfdgfd