He hippo in Japan zoo turns out to be a she

In a surprising revelation, officials at Japan's Osaka Tennoji Zoo announced on Tuesday, they thought Gen-chan the hippo was a boy for seven years is not actually a male as previously believed.

Gen-chan arrived from Mexico in 2017, where it was identified as a male. However, its behavior did not match typical male hippo traits and Gen-chan did not engage in behaviors like splattering feces or calling out to females. Additionally, zookeepers could not visually confirm its gender, and requested a DNA test from an external institution, which revealed that Gen-chan is a female, according to a statement released by the Zoo.