over the video says<\/a>, while the caption reads, \u201cBetter listen to mom!\u201d<\/p>\nThe clip begins with Mars being assisted out of the pool by a zookeeper, signaling play time is over. The wiggly hippo, however, escapes and runs back into the water. While he happily returns to his swim, the camera pans to Posie, who gives the baby hippo \u201cthe stare.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mars then hops out of the water and follows his mom out of the area. <\/p>\n
The zoo\u2019s Curator of Research and Welfare, Dr. Samantha Russak, tells TODAY.com, \u201cThis is a pretty common occurrence at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hippos stay indoors overnight and getting Mars inside has been a struggle. The adult hippos, Russak says, know that they will be fed when they go inside, so they easily go in. But Mars is still nursing off of Posie and won\u2019t eat more solid food for at least two months. \u201cSo he\u2019s less motivated to go inside because we have food that he\u2019s not ready to eat yet,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n
Born June 26, Mars is about 40 pounds and covered with a mucus-like substance called \u201cblood sweat,\u201d Russak says. \u201cIt\u2019s a secretion that helps keep their skin from drying out and also helps prevent sunburn. But basically that makes him like a greasy avocado.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo between his size and that secretion, it\u2019s really hard to pick him up and just carry him inside. So we found that we can call mom back out, or if mom is getting impatient because she wants to go inside, she\u2019ll turn around and give kind of small little grunts,\u201d she continues. \u201cIt seems to be universal. Moms everywhere just have that power over babies. I saw someone comment and say, \u2018She must have used his full three names.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
People in the comments couldn\u2019t help but compare Posie\u2019s reaction to that of a human mom with her own toddler. Many mentioned the \u201cmom stare,\u201d an expression mothers use to communicate with their kids without speaking. It is typically needed when children are misbehaving or when moms have to assert their authority. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u2018mom stare\u2019 is universal in every species,\u201d one person wrote. <\/p>\n
Another added, \u201cShe gave him the look.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others imagined what Posie possibly communicated to Mars to get him out of the pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you heard that lady tell you come out the water,\u201d one person wrote from Posie\u2019s perspective. <\/p>\n
\u201cMars potato jones get out of the water now,\u201d another commented.<\/p>\n
A third wrote, \u201cMom: 1, 2… Baby: ok, mom * stares: you snitch…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom: \u2018I\u2019m gonna turn around and start walking, if I look back and you aren\u2019t out of that pool and right behind me, we\u2019re gonna have a problem, k?\u2019\u201d one TikTok user joked. <\/p>\n
Another added, \u201cSo, toddlers or all species are the same.\u201d<\/p>\n