Cincinnati Zoo Shares Sweet Video to Celebrate Hippo Fritz's First Birthday

The Cincinnati Zoo has a lot to celebrate! Over this past year, the zoo has been caring for and supporting hippopotamus siblings Fiona and Fitz. Fitz was introduced to the zoo and its followers in August 2022 after Bibi gave birth to the little hippo. Over this year, he's grown so much, and the zoo is celebrating!

On TikTok, the zoo (@cincinnatizoo) posted a sweet video in honor of Fitz and his birthday, reminiscing over some of his cutest moments. Take a look!

In the video, which lasts just under a minute, we see the first look at Fitz when he was born a year ago, cuddling with his mom Bibi.

Next, we see a cute closeup of the hippo, one of him eating, and then seemingly smiling while swimming in the water. 

The clip shows him playing with the bubbles in the water, having fun with his mom and sister, and with each clip we can watch him grow stronger and taller.

"Fiona has been the center of attention since, in 2017, she became the first premature hippo to survive. She is still wildly popular, but people, including me, have also really fallen for Fritz," Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard said in a press release celebrating his birthday. "We think he deserves a special party and want to invite everyone to attend."

In the comment section, people left their good wishes for Fitz and celebrated his birthday too.

"Happy Birthday sweet baby," one person wrote.

"I believe Fritz got his sassiness from his big sister!" someone else wrote.

"Happy Birthday Fritz! hard to believe a year has gone by," shared another.

"His personality is just too much, lol. He's the baby and the man all at the same time, lol" wrote someone else.

According to the zoo, Fitz was given watermelon as a treat for his birthday and celebrated at the park, too. "Since hippos love watermelon, the fruit will be one of the many treats that the Zoo's 'one-in-a-melon' baby will receive during the celebration," the park shared.