The zoo is inviting people to guess the weight of the graceful 33-year-old Water Lily and 12-year-old Guadalupe to win the opportunity of meeting the hippos up close.

The Woodland Park Zoo carefully monitors the weight of its animals and recently acquired a new scale to weigh its hippos.

Washington state residents are invited to guess the COMBINED WEIGHT of both hippos. The entry forms can be found online at http://www.zoo.org/hippocontest and will be accepted through midnight, January 27, 2012. The winning entry will be the closest to the combined weight.

The prize for the winning entry will be: a meet ‘n’ greet with the zoo’s hippos behind the scenes in the hippo barn, a 4-gallon bucket of Zoo Doo, six single-day passes to the zoo, and a ZooParent hippo adoption with a hippo plush toy.

To be eligible for the prize, entrants must be legal Washington state residents and 18 or older, or have guardian approval. Employees and volunteers of Woodland Park Zoo and members of immediate family are not eligible to participate and win.

A weight-monitoring program is important to help ensure the health of the animals at Woodland Park Zoo and is a part of the zoo’s exemplary animal care program.

“The new scale allows us the ability to get an accurate weight on these giant pachyderms and modify their diets if necessary,” said Pat Owen, a collection manager at the zoo. “Our zookeepers have been working diligently to train the girls to step on the scale and hold still for a weight. While most folks balk at hopping on a scale, our hippos can’t read the numbers so the weigh-in shouldn’t be too embarrassing for them,” joked Owen.