Happy 7th Birthday, Fiona!

·49 min·4 clips

Join hosts Jenna and Mark as they celebrate Fiona the hippo's 7th birthday with original Team Fiona member Wendy Rice.

This episode celebrates Fiona the hippopotamus's seventh birthday, featuring hosts Jenna and Mark alongside Wendy Rice, a keeper from the Cincinnati Zoo's Africa department and an original "Team Fiona" member. The conversation reflects on Fiona's unexpected rise to fame since her premature birth in 2017 and her enduring cultural impact. Wendy Rice provides an insider perspective on how Fiona's story transformed the zoo and the careers of those who care for her. Fiona was born on January 24, 2017, making this episode coincide precisely with her seventh birthday. Her initial survival as a premature hippo sparked intense public interest and media coverage that the hosts describe as "madness." The team notes that while media attention has slightly decreased, with only one known news interview scheduled for this birthday compared to three or four in past years, Fiona maintains a very strong following. Her popularity persists especially on dedicated Facebook pages and through local news outlets. Wendy Rice reveals that Fiona has been a central part of her career for most of the past decade, fundamentally changing the work and lives of the zoo staff. The hosts express shared disbelief that seven years have passed since Fiona's birth, highlighting how her story feels both long-lasting and continuously fresh. A surprising insight is that the staff anticipated the public "craze" would fade years ago, yet Fiona's popularity defied those expectations and never truly ended. The episode maintains a warm, conversational, and nostalgic tone, blending personal reflection with professional anecdotes. The style is informal and celebratory, focusing on shared memories and the ongoing bond between the caretakers and the animal. This episode will delight Fiona the hippo fans, Cincinnati Zoo supporters, and anyone interested in behind-the-scenes animal care stories. Listeners seeking hard science or critical zoo industry analysis might find the content too light and celebratory.

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