A zoo in Japan reported that it made a mistake that lasted seven years. The zoo's beloved hippo, Gen-chan, who it believed to be a male, was actually female. The Osaka Tennoji Zoo made this revelation on its website.
Gen-chan came to the zoo in 2017 when she was 5 years old. She was previously a resident at Mexico's Africam Safari. This institution and the necessary paperwork all stated that Gen-chan was male.
Officials at Osaka Tennoji Zoo had no reason to question Gen-chan’s sex at first. This changed as she matured. She never displayed typical male behaviors, such as sparring, which is the hippo equivalent of leaving the toilet seat up.
When officials began to doubt Gen-chan's sex, they opted to test her DNA. This is because hippos' reproductive organs are not able to be visually confirmed. Turns out that he’s actually a she.
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The zoo is using this as a teaching moment and vowed to learn from this experience. "Based on this result, we recognize the importance of reconfirming the sex of introduced animals, and will take precautions to ensure that this does not happen again. We will continue to strive to provide a comfortable environment for Gen-chan, so we hope that you will continue to come and see Gen-chan," the zoo stated on its website.
To learn more about Gen-chan, watch this video.
