Japan's Osaka Tennoji Zoo received a surprise when they discovered that a hippo named Gen-chan, believed to be male for the past seven years, is actually a female. The revelation came after a DNA test was conducted recently.
According to a post on their website, the zoo explained that when Gen-chan arrived from Mexico's Africa Safari in 2017, they were informed by the Mexico zoo officials and transfer documents that the hippo was male.
"The animal was only 5 years old at the time and was still a child," a translation of the Japan zoo's post on the discovery says. "We had no doubts."
However, zookeepers at Osaka Tennoji started noticing that Gen-chan did not exhibit typical male hippo behaviors. For example, the hippo did not engage in tail-whipping movements to mark territory, did not make courtship calls to females, and no male genitalia were ever identified by caretakers.
In a surprising turn of events, zoo officials were shocked to discover that Gen-chan, the 12-year-old hippo, is actually a female. After ordering a DNA test to confirm their suspicions, it was revealed that Gen-chan's sex had been misidentified. Despite this revelation, the hippo's name will remain the same.
"We recognize the importance of reconfirming the sex of introduced animals and will take precautions to ensure that this does not happen again," a translation of the post says. "We will continue to strive to provide a comfortable environment for Gen-chan."
