Cincinnati Zoo Kicks Off Season 2 of “The Fiona® Show” on Facebook Watch with a Live Birthday Special

Posted January 23, 2018

See Fiona get her first birthday cake tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. EST on Facebook Watch

CINCINNATI (January 23, 2018) – Back by popular demand, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden will continue “The Fiona Show” on Facebook Watch, bringing you live behind the scenes episodes with Fiona. Season 2 of the wildly popular show on Facebook Watch will kick off tomorrow, January 24, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. EST with a Live of Fiona celebrating her 1st birthday! Follow “The Fiona Show” on Facebook Watch to add the series to your Watchlist and be automatically notified when there is a new episode.

“The Zoo’s nutritionist and commissary staff have prepared a one-of-a-kind cake for the birthday girl, and it will be fun to let everyone see her reaction to that,” said Christina Gorsuch, Cincinnati Zoo’s curator of mammals.  “The world has been watching her ups and downs this past year, so we think people will want to see her enjoying her big day.”

Fiona’s birthday is a major milestone. She was born six weeks premature and weighed only 29 pounds, about half as much as the low end of the normal birth weight for a Nile hippo.  Thanks to the Cincinnati Zoo’s animal care team, and a helping hand from Cincinnati Children’s, Fiona survived. “The fact that she’s alive today is a bit of a miracle,” said Gorsuch.

The first season of “The Fiona Show,” which documented the first year of Fiona’s life, attracted over 34 million views.We weren’t sure about doing a second season of the show.  Fiona’s a healthy, normal hippo at this point and most of her big milestones are behind her,” said Chad Yelton, Cincinnati Zoo’s vice president of communications. “But there’s still an incredible amount of interest in her and we think her unique personality can carry the show.  She seems to like being in the spotlight, so we’ll continue as long as that’s the case.”

Another item to add to your “social” calendar on Fiona’s birthday is a special Instagram Live with San Diego Zoo keepers and their baby hippo Tony. Follow @cincinnatizoo on Instagram to see Tony and Fiona enjoying treats behind the scenes while keepers from @sandiegozoo share stories and compare developmental progress of the hippos in their care.  The fun starts at noon EST on January 24. This is the first co-hosted Instagram Live for both Zoos.  Witness history!