Cheyenne Mountain Zoo welcomes new hippo

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Visitors to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo can meet a new hippo soon!

Once Biko, the male Nile Hippo, clears quarantine, he'll be joining the others in the zoo's Water's Edge: Africa exhibit.

Biko was also brought to the zoo under a breeding recommendation with two female hippos, Zambezi and Kasai.

We welcomed a male Nile #hippo to our brand-new exhibit, Water's Edge: Africa, yesterday evening. Meet Biko, a 17-year-old who comes to #CMZoo on a breeding recommendation! pic.twitter.com/jp2WjXRi7D

— CheyenneMountainZoo (@CheyenneMtnZoo) July 1, 2020

"We’ve been working on letting the girls spend time together until they show us they’d prefer a little time apart,” said Patty Wallace, senior lead keeper at Water’s Edge: Africa. “They’re spending more and more time together, but still seem to want time away from each other to appear totally comfortable in their new home. With the arrival of Biko, who is smaller than the females, the dynamics could completely change. Only time will tell. We will watch their behavior closely, and let them tell us what the next steps are.”

The zoo has reopened at limited capacity during the coronavirus pandemic.