One of the bulkiest and possibly smelliest packages ever sent by FedEx arrived at Dublin Airport yesterday to the amusement of staff and onlookers.
Heidi the hippopotamus is the eagerly awaited companion for Hoovie, the Dublin Zoo hippo who lost his mother after she swallowed a tennis ball thrown over a fence last October.
According to his minders, Hoovie has been desperate for company since her death.
New arrival Heidi, who is on permanent loan from Basel Zoo in Switzerland, is expected to fill the mother role for her new room-mate.
When she matures it is expected she will become a mating partner for the young calf and perhaps even Hoovie's father, 25-year-old Henry.
The 15-month-old hippo left her home in Switzerland at 4.30 a.m., arriving at Dublin Zoo five hours later. According to staff it wasn't long before Hoovie, Heidi's senior by one month, was following his new companion around.
"He is stuck to her like a plaster," said the elephant and hippopotamus keeper, Mr Joe Byrne, yesterday. "As soon as Heidi went into the stall, Hoovie raced over to her and has barely left her side ever since".
There has been no tension between the pair, he said, and all interaction has been playful rather than aggressive. For the foreseeable future they will share Hoovie's home, a spacious place with two pools. The fact that neither animal has grown teeth or tusks yet means they can't hurt each other, explained Mr Byrne.
Hoovie had been kept in a separate stall from his father since his mother's death. Each morning, craving attention from his father, he has poked his head through the bars desperate for companionship.
"I am delighted for him, absolutely thrilled," said Mr Byrne, adding that female hippos were not easy to come by.
Hoovie was sent money and letters of support after his mothers died. One boy from Limerick sent a Mass card and €5 with instructions to "buy a little present for Hoovie".