A hippo at the Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan, was called a male for seven years after the zoo acquired it. Then came a recent DNA test, which found that the animal was a female.

The hippo, named Gen-chan by the zoo, was acquired from Africam Safari in Puebla, Mexico, in 2017 at the age of 5. When the Tennoji Zoo landed Gen-chan, it was told she was male.

As Gen-chan aged, her reproductive organs couldn’t be confirmed due to her girth, leading to doubts among zoo staff as to her sex. 

She also failed to act like a male. Whereas normal male hippos use courtship calls to attract females and spread their dung to mark their territory, Gen-chan did neither, a zoo spokesperson told Agence France-Presse.

DNA testing was conducted by an unspecified outside institution, which found that Gen-chan is in fact a female, the zoo said. The name will stay the same. 

“Her petite, lean face had been a topic of conversation among the zookeepers, saying, ‘He’s a handsome boy.’ Even though we now know Gen-chan is a girl, we’ll keep taking good care of her to ensure her comfort. Please come and meet the female Gen-chan,” a zoo official told Japan News.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.