Expectant Parents Use Hippo for Gender Reveal — Was It Safe?

The couple got backlash for including the animal in their surprise.

A father-to-be fed a watermelon to a hungry hippo to reveal the sex of his child.

The reveal happened Saturday at Capital of Texas Zoo in Cedar Creek. Blue Jell-O poured out of Tank the hippo’s mouth, indicating the couple is having a boy. 

But not everyone thinks getting the hippo involved was a good thing.

“Worst gender reveal,” was one tweet. 

“That person's baby is not important enough to feed a hippo food coloring,” goes another comment.

Bridgette and Jonathan Joseph are the expectant parents. 

“It was a very small amount of Jell-O and mostly fell out on the ground anyways, but it would not have mattered because it is the same Jell-O that people feed their kids,” she told Inside Edition. “This is a regular practice in zoos.”  

The zoo director told Inside Edition watermelon and Jell-O are Tank the hippo’s favorite snacks, adding that they're "perfectly harmless" and "approved by our vet.”

“Tank was more than happy to have the treat."

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