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Camden's Adventure Aquarium Celebrates Hippo's Birthday

by Hadas Kuznits

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Adventure Aquarium in Camden celebrates one animal's sweet sixteen birthday.

Genny, the 4,000 pound hippo, turned 16 at Camden's Adventure Aquarium. To celebrate, she and her exhibit-mate Button were given giant birthday cakes made of fruit and sweet potatoes.

"I was like, what are they eating?! And then we saw their cake and they eat like really sloppy!" said one little girl watching the hippos.

"Behind the elephant and the rhino, the hippo's the third largest land mammal," said senior biologist Mark Heck, who adds that each hippo consumes about 65,000-70,000 calories a day.

"Here at the aquarium they get lots of hay. They get 25 pounds each of hay, then the rest is made up of fruits, vegetables, greens and they also get 3 pounds of grains; so at the end of the day it's about 40 pounds each hippo," he said.

You can sign a birthday card for Genny through Sunday.

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