Expecting parents use hippo for gender reveal, video angers netizens

Following the criticism of what they had done, the zookeeper and couple have clarified that the animal wasn't harmed in any way.

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Tank the hippo was seen chomping onto the watermelon as teh would-be father tossed the fruit in his mouth for the gender reveal.

As the trend of gender-reveals gains popularity, people come up with more quirky and unusual ways. Recently, a couple used a hippopotamus to reveal the gender of their child and the video is going viral online, but not for the reasons they would have liked.

Posted on TikTok by user @xyssa.jada, the video show the to-be father tossing a watermelon into a hippo’s mouth. The animal smashes it with a bite and blue-coloured jelly gushes out, indicating they are expecting a boy.

Filmmaker Ana Bretón shared the video on Twitter and since then it has gone viral, with over 8 million views so far.

I did it. I found the worst gender reveal. pic.twitter.com/37b5GkrTbN

— Ana Bretón (@missbreton) September 21, 2019

Many people were concerned about the animal eating fruit filled with dye, while others were unhappy about the man saying “thank god” after it was clear they are expecting a baby boy.

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The video was shot at the Capital of Texas Zoo in Cedar Creek for the couple, Jonathan and Bridgette Joseph, who are going to welcome their baby boy in March 2020.

But following the criticism, the zookeeper and couple have clarified that the animal wasn’t harmed in any way.

The hippo seen in the clip is called Tank and only eats the best foods, and so the watermelon had been filled with organic blue Jell-O, the zoo director Michael Hicks told TIME magazine. He said that the animal eats “watermelon and Jell-O cups as a weekly staple in his diet”.

After the backlash, the filmmaker who shared the video also reached out to the couple and clarified on Twitter that she didn’t mean to “bring darkness to their special day”.

Hi all! I’ve been in touch with the family in the video. While I’m not a fan of gender reveals, it was not my intention to bring darkness to their special day. Here’s some background written by Bridgette. Donations to the ACTUAL hippo in the vid here: https://t.co/rByV2mbXRK pic.twitter.com/fDWY29niTE

— Ana Bretón (@missbreton) September 22, 2019

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