Male hippopotamus in Japanese zoo turns out to be female after 7 years | Abroad

Gen-chan arrived at the Osaka Tennoji Zoo from Mexico in 2017. The customs documents then stated that she was a male. Those documents weren’t questioned because Gen-chan was still a calf at the time, but as Gen-chan got older and they couldn’t see the male reproductive organs, zookeepers started asking questions.

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The keepers became even more concerned a little later because Gen-chan did not show any typical ‘traits’ of a male hippopotamus. A male hippo has some typical characteristics, such as making courtship calls to female hippos or ‘propeller-like’ tail movements to mark his territory and throwing feces around while going to the toilet.

We recognize the importance of gender confirmation and want to ensure that such mistakes do not happen again

Kiyoshi Yasufuku, deputy director of Osaka Tennoji Zoo

The zoo emphasizes that they treat the animal with great care. “We will continue to do our best to provide Gen-chan with a comfortable environment.” The hippopotamus will not have a name change.