ZooBorns

South Africa Welcomes Prince Harry, A Brand New Pygmy Hippo

In the early hours of last Thursday morning, The Cango Wildlife Ranch in South Africa welcomed a new little fresh-faced baby. Hilda and Herbert, the Pygmy Hippopotamus pair had successfully mated and gifted the ranch with a beautiful 5.1kg healthy baby boy named Harry.

Hilda's water broke last Wednesday afternoon, creating much excitement and anticipation on the ranch. Immediately Hilda and Herbert were separated, making it easier for staff to observe Hilda. The Hippo pond was drained as well to eliminate the risk of her giving birth in the water. Ranch Director, Rob Hall, and Reptile Curator, Neal Martin monitored Hilda throughout Wednesday night...quietly watching her from a safe distance. After a long and uncomfortable night Rob and Neal dozed off just after 5h30 and awoke just less than an hour later, only to discover that Hilda had just given birth! They quietly observed the mother and baby for some time. Hilda was clearly exhausted!

Photo credits: Cango Wildlife Reserve

The Pygmy Hippopotamus' wild population is classified as critically endangered. There are fewer than 3000 left in the wild. They hail from West Africa, mainly confined to Liberia, with small numbers in the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. So for Cango Wildlife Ranch, from Oudtshoorn South Africa, to successfully breed another endangered species is a very proud moment for all involved.

Read more beneath the fold.

Naming Miami's Newest Arrival

The other day, we brought you news of Zoo Miami's Pygmy Hippo baby. Zookeepers are now asking the public to help choose between four names. "Nzuri", which means beautiful, "Nyumbani", meaning home, "Leona", a reference to Sierra Leone, and "Asali", meaning honey; a tribute to one of the Zoo's Hippo's which passed away last year. You can visit the zoo's survey now and cast your vote!

Check below the fold to view more images of the calf.

Meet Kambiri the Pygmy Hippo

Taronga Zoo is celebrating the arrival of a precious Pygmy Hippo calf, the first to be reared by its mother at the Zoo in over 20 years. The female infant named, ‘Kambiri’ meaning “allow me to join this family “was born to mother ‘Petre’ and father ‘Timmy’ and discovered in the early morning of Saturday 26 June by the Zoo’s dedicated keeping staff who had been monitoring the pregnancy.

For the next few weeks visitors will begin to catch glimpses of the newborn as it spends short periods of time exploring the exhibit with its mother.“Pygmy Hippos spend a lot of time in the water so Kambiri needs to perfect the art of swimming before it can spend long periods in the exhibit. Like all infants, they tire quickly so we will be taking things day by day.”

“We ask our visitors to be patient whilst we introduce Kambiri to the outside world, however in the coming weeks we do hope to share her with the community as much as possible. Pygmy Hippo babies are one of the cutest there is and exceptionally precious with only a few thousand individuals left in the wild.”

The infant is the second female calf born to Petre and Timmy, following ‘Monifa’ which was born in 2008. Unfortunately despite Petre initially showing very strong mothering skills, Monifa had to be hand-reared by zoo keepers after a difficult breach birth which compromised the newborn’s ability to thrive.

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Up Close and Personal with a Pygmy Hippo

The Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre was established in 1979 as a satellite of South Africa's National Zoo to promote conservation, research and education in support of native African species. Located roughly halfway between Pretoria and the famous Kruger National Park, Mokopane is part zoo, part breeding facility and part open range where a variety of African species interact in a natural environment. 

These camera phone pictures were taken specially for ZooBorns and feature Mokopane's newest little pygmy hippo, born May 28th.

Photo credits: Mark Howitt / National Zoological Gardens of South Africa

Plump Pygmy Hippo Calf Daydreaming

Flory, a  Pygmy Hippo born in late September at the Diergaarde in Blijdorp, Netherlands, rests close to mom. These photos and video, by lensman A.J. Haverkamp, show the infant Pygmy Hippo at only ten days old. Critically endangered in their native home of Western Africa, Pygmy Hippos thrive with proper care at zoos and most of what scientists know about this fascinating animal is derived from zoo populations.

Pygmy Hippo Weighs a Ton on the Cute Scale

On November 27th, the Colchester Zoo welcomed its first Pygmy Hippo calf. Since then, mom and baby girl have developed a close bond. The little one has been reportedly "suckling strongly," steadily gaining weight, as evidenced below, at a healthy rate.

 

 

Brand New Pygmy Hippo Hits Rotterdam

A newborn baby pygmy hippo from Rotterdam’s Blijdorp Zoo, is no bigger than a head of lettuce! The pygmy hippo grows to just over 3ft tall - just one fifth of the size of the common hippopotamus and is the only other species of hippo in the world. Reclusive and nocturnal, the mammals are semi-aquatic and need to live near water to keep their skin moisturized and their bodies cool.

Leishan is One Happy Hippo

Keepers at the Edinburgh Zoo are celebrating the birth of a pygmy hippopotamus. Leishan, whose name means ‘gift’ in West African, was born on June 9th. She is the offspring of Ellen and Otto and is the first baby for this new breeding pair.

 

Photo credits: Alan Thomson

Baby Pygmy Hippo at the Marwell Park Zoo

With less than 3,000 in the wild, pygmy hippos are highly endangered. By breeding babies like this little girl, conservationists hope to help save the species from extinction. The public is invited to help pick a name for her on the Marwell Zoological Park website. Options include Loko, Kadina, Zimmi and Lola.

Photo credit: Solent News and Photo Agency

Photo credit: Solent News and Photo Agency

Rare Baby Pygmy Hippo

Sydney's Taronga Zoo is celebrating the recent birth of its first pygmy hippopotamus in 23 years.

Monifa was born about three weeks ago and weighs six kilograms or about thirteen pounds.When compared with a normal full sized adult hippo weighing between 3,000 - 4,500 kilograms (6,500 - 10,000 pounds) you get an idea of what a mini hippo Monifa really is.

(Above Photo Credit: Taronga Zoo)