From The New Mexican:
The female is shy and has never met a male. The male has been out of the mating game for quite a while. Then there’s that 29-year age difference.
No matter, officials at Albuquerque’s Rio Grande Zoo are hoping that hippos Moe and Karen become friends and maybe even soul-mates when they meet later this year.
Karen, a 3-year-old female, is considered on the cusp of sexual maturity. Moe is a 32-year-old bachelor whose last experience as a sire was more than two decades ago.
“Moe has been out of the game for 25 years,” said Rio Grande mammal curator Rick Janser.
The article goes on to say “if the couple are to mate, it will probably have to be Karen who sends out the right signals.”