Fiona the hippo celebrates her fourth birthday with all of Twitter
Of the few genuinely wholesome things to have captivated the world since January 2017, Fiona is up there with the best of them.
Born six weeks premature on Jan. 24, 2017, the Cincinnati Zoo's young hippopotamus child was a beacon of delight during a particularly dark moment in American history. She's been with us ever since, and now she's celebrating four years of life.
Happy birthday, Fiona!
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The zoo rang in Fiona's latest birthday in much the same way it has every other year: With cake, pictures, video, and a charity drive. That means there's all sorts of adorable media for you to gawk at as you wish this very special hippo a very special day.
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Fiona quickly became a national sensation when she was first born, due to both her touching story and the fact that baby hippos really are quite adorable. Plus, 2017 was a stressful year for at least half the country and Fiona offered us a blessed escape.
We aww'ed in delight as she reconnected with her parents six months after she was born. We cheered for the friends she made her absolute gracefulness. And we heaved sighs of relief when, just shy of her third birthday, Fiona finally tipped the scales at 1,000 pounds.
The weight milestone was especially important because, as a premature birth, there were doubts as to whether she'd survive at all and what her long-term outlook was for living a happy, quality life. Maybe it was luck, or Fiona's spirit, or just the collective intensity of our hope that one good thing could survive 2017.
Whatever it was that kept her going, we're richer for it. Fiona is officially turning four years old as we all come to grips with the possibility of a brighter future ahead. Happiest of birthdays to you, sweet hippo.
Topics Animals
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
