This column is part of a series in which courtyard Support staff highly subjective animal reviews. So far, we’ve written about animals, but haven’t told you whether they suck or rule. We are now correcting this oversight.

Nothing reminds me more of the good things in this world than Baby Hippo and we can thank Bibi Hippo for bringing in a brand new 60 lbs social media star.

Bibi the Cincinnati Zoo gave birth to her newest baby this week. To commemorate her achievement, The zoo gave us a gift twitter feed Filled with tiny ear wiggles.

I don’t know about you, but I need these happy little clips.

Wouldn’t it be bad to wear a mask while writing at the office because I don’t want the latest COVID-19 surge to disrupt my summer plans? Yes. Will that mask make me more prone to breakouts? Yes. Am I analyzing each pimple for signs of monkeypox? Yes. It’s 101 degrees outside, am I worried that blasting the air conditioner will just cause a climate crisis? Yes. Do I have high blood pressure? I’ll let you know after the weekend because checking at the pharmacy right now is a great time to date my husband.

Thank goodness I can find comfort in wholesome animal videos. It’s good to know that somewhere in the world, a baby hippo is hanging out with its mother in a swimming pool.

So, this is for you, Bibi. You are like every mom, a true hero. Everyone loves to whine at babies. But I see you, girl. You keep your normal cold schedule at the zoo until you give birth. And you don’t even get some of the modern benefits of pregnancy.

Hippo senior caregiver Jenna Wingate told Cincinnati Magazine Bibi didn’t indulge any pregnancy cravings, even if she had. They simply continued to feed her a typical hippo diet of 20 pounds of Timothy hay, 5 pounds of grain and 20 pounds of produce, the magazine reported.

Bibi was apparently born on Watermelon Day, and the zoo said the baby likely weighed at least 60 pounds. Rest, ma’am; they don’t call it white labor.

It was apparently also an unintended unwanted pregnancy. Around April Fools’ Day, “Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden staff learned that 23-year-old Bibi the hippo was pregnant. Since she was on birth control, most people thought the news was a joke!” said a press release announcing the birth.

On behalf of every woman in the world who has ever doubted: We know how Bibi feels.

This is 23-year-old Bibi’s second baby hippo, and despite the unwanted pregnancy, things seem to be going better than Bibi’s first baby hippo, Fiona. Fiona was born six weeks premature and weighed just 29 pounds. The little hippo quickly won the internet, and it looks like her little siblings will follow in her footsteps.

Now, the family seems to be doing fine. Fiona’s has a healthy weight of 2,000 pounds. Bibi and the newborn baby will stay in the backstage of the zoo for now. In the wild, hippos leave the herd for a week or two to bond with their babies, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

So, for now, the only way the public currently sees them is online. (Though you need a zoo membership to watch the webcam.) Oh, and if you have any good baby names, you can submit them online too.

And, since this is a review, we’ll end with a temporary scorecard as Hippo Mama’s extraordinary Bibi.

advantage:

• Hippos are only eight months pregnant before giving birth, even though their babies weigh 10 times the weight of a human newborn.
• Bibi seems to be a great hippo mom.
• Bibi gave us not one but two little hippos so we could coax.

shortcoming:

• Bibi’s baby hippo is too big for me to pick up and hold.

Overall score: 11/10