SHANGHAI Zoo wants the public to name its latest star, a shy hippo born on July 3.

The cub now weighs 32 kilograms but she is reluctant to show herself and is afraid of strangers, keepers said.

"She is very clingy to her mother and follows her all the time," said He Weiguang, a zoo worker.

"When there are strangers, she always hides behind her mother," he said.

She is now able to drink milk under water and she is in good health despite her body being even smaller than her mother's head.

She is the second child of Xiaodongxi, a 15-year-old hippo who gave birth to Xibao last year — the first hippo to be born at the zoo for more than a decade.

Xibao, meaning “a delightful baby” in Chinese, was also named by the public.

The new-born cub has greeted tourists at the indoors exhibition area, and she will meet visitors outdoors once the weather cools down next month, the zoo said.

It called on tourists not to upset the quiet environment the zoo has set up for the hippo family.

Names should be submitted by August 27.