Baby Hippo name triggers controversy

So cute yet so controversial already

A baby hippo was born four-weeks ago in the Belgian zoo of Antwerp, and received quite some media attention during his first swim in public with his rhino mum, called Imani.

Though the Daily Mail reported yesterday that “The little male is now the youngest of his kind in Europe but is still waiting to be named by zoo-keepers”, the BJ reporters were told his name has been decided but is not rendered public until 14 June, the day after the elections in Belgium.

The reason for this delay? A controversy between the Flemish and French-speaking communities in Belgium. The BJ was told that the Flemish zoo-keepers had decided to call the little hippo “Bédéwé”, a swahili name that stands for “He that is strong and heavy and steam rolls his way through”. But the French-speaking community is outraged as they claim the choice of name is a direct reference to the leader of the Flemish political party N-VA, Bart De Wever aka BDW, and a clear attempt to increase his “cuteness factor”.

The Zoo of Antwerp refused to comment. The little hippo declined too.

1. 

   bob says:

   January 25, 2012 at 3:14 pm

   i hate babies i eat them (mormon)

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