When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Tomoki Masuda ANN/JAPAN NEWS – Zoos and aquariums nationwide are re-examining how they exhibit animals in their care and how visitors are allowed to interact with the animals, so as to reduce stress on the captive creatures. These efforts stem from the concept of animal welfare, which emphasises the need for animals to live in […]