CINCINNATI, Ohio—The queen of the Queen City turns four today- that is, Fiona the hippo of course. Many people around the world have watched Fiona’s journey after she was born six weeks premature.

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Fiona the hippo is most likely the most popular animal at the Cincinnati zoo. And that’s because of her story. Fiona was born six weeks premature at just 29 pounds and is the smallest hippo known to survive. But now, weighing in at just over 1500 pounds, the four year old hippo is enjoying life.

“She is super healthy and happy living her best life right now," Alexa Scardina, one of the zookeepers in the zoo's Africa Department said.

Fiona also has a big personality 

“She does have a big personality, she’s here with us right now!" Scardina said. "She always keeps us on our toes. She makes us laugh every day.”

Her zookeepers, including Scardina, still spend a lot of time with Fiona and her mom Bibi. 

“She loves her keepers and coming up to say hi to us," Scardina said. "Every morning, she’ll run over and get excited for food, we like to this it’s for us.”

Fiona spends a lot of time eating, totaling about 30 pounds of food a day. And for her fourth birthday, even enjoyed a special frozen fruit cake.

“Their everyday foods are, they really love anything, but romaine lettuce for sure and then any sort of melon they get as a rare treat," Scardina said.

While Fiona has come a long way in her four years of life and brought a lot of joy to zoo guests, her zookeepers are especially grateful for the bond they share with her. 

“You come in every morning, you greet them, you say ‘hi ladies!’" Scardina said. "You come over and you feed them, you give them mouth massages. So you like to think, it’s whoever’s there that day and whoever’s giving them the food and love but I like to think spending, you know, four, three days a weeks with them you build that relationship and they like you.”