Baby hippo take a swim

On Thursday, baby hippo Devi made a big splash with visitors at the San Diego Zoo.

The 8-week-old hippo, who was born to mom Funani in late March, is beginning to venture out to the deepest part of the 150,000 gallon pool, now that her mom isn’t as protective of her.

Due to the protective nature of Funani, the Zoo staff was only recently able to verify that Devi was a girl and estimate she weighs between 90 and 100 pounds. “Funani often had her tucked into vegetation near the shore, and kept her body between the calf and the public,” the Zoo said in a statement released Thursday. “Funani would also place her body between the baby and the viewing area.”

For all Zoo visitors, mother and daughter can be seen in the hippo’s pool on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturdays and Sundays while father, Otis, can be seen the other days.

See msnbc