ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – At just six months old, Albuquerque BioPark Zoo’s youngest hippopotamus is already making waves. Maisy now weighs more than 330 pounds, a sign of healthy growth for the rapidly developing Nile hippo calf born in October 2025.
Maisy is the daughter of longtime BioPark resident Karen and Moe, one of the most iconic animals in the zoo’s history. Moe, who died in November 2025 at the age of 52, was the oldest male Nile hippo in any AZA-accredited zoo and spent more than two decades at the Albuquerque BioPark, helping establish a multigenerational hippo family that visitors came to know well.
Karen first arrived in Albuquerque in 2004, and together with Moe, she has given birth to four calves, several of whom now live in zoos across the country. Maisy joins her older sister Matilda, born in 2021, making the current BioPark hippo herd a reflection of more than 20 years of successful hippo care and breeding in Albuquerque.
Zoo officials say Maisy still sports a light, fluffy coat of baby hair, which hippos naturally shed as they age. Adult hippos typically retain only small patches of hair around their ears and muzzles. Visitors can often see Maisy resting with Karen and Matilda or splashing in the water during the hippos’ daily afternoon feeding, one of the most popular viewing times at the zoo.
