Login with Patreon
Cute! > Off TopicApr 7, 2025 6:30 pm CT

Celebrate pygmy hippo babies born in 2024 for National Pygmy Hippo Day!

Believe it or not, the Metro Richmond Zoo’s precious Poppy was merely the last arrival in a personality-packed lineup of newborn pygmy hippos in the last year. Moo Deng is arguably the most famous baby hippo of 2024 (or perhaps the most famous pygmy hippo of all time), she wasn’t the first new arrival to the species in 2024! Seven pint-sized hippopotami were born in zoos around the world last year, some of which marked the first pygmy hippo births at their zoo in year. That’s great news for this endangered species, but it’s also great news for us as we get to enjoy the many baby pygmy hippo photos and videos being shared online.

So in honor of National Pygmy Hippo Day on April 8, let’s celebrate these youngsters. Here are the precocious baby pygmy hippos born in the past year.

Ronda the pygmy hippo from Montgomery Zoo

Ronda (Montgomery Zoo, Alabama)

Ronda was born February 11, 2024, to parents Asali and Mikey at the Montgomery Zoo. She is the eighth born under the Montgomery Zoo’s pygmy hippo breeding program coordinated under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) Programs. At just over a year old, Ronda is fully weaned from mom Asali and quite independent, but won’t be considered an adult for another few years.

But while Ronda is a young pygmy hippo, the Montgomery Zoo recently celebrated the arrival of another baby pygmy hippo: Anuket, born on February 9, 2025. At this age, Anuket is sticking close to mom Lola so you won’t find her out and about with the rest of the hippos — but the zoo is posting a stream of photos and videos online. Check the Montgomery Zoo’s social media pages for more of Ronda and Anuket, but with a new baby in the house Anuket is currently getting more of the attention. The zoo is on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).

Fun fact from Montgomery Zoo — whales are the closest living relative to hippos (river and pygmy).

Mailo the pygmy hippo from Attica Zoological Park

Mailo (Attica Zoological Park in Athens, Greece)

Mailo was born to parents Lizzie and Jamal on February 19, 2024, at the Attica Zoological Park in Greece. As a boy, Mailo is a very special birth among the already rare and endangered species — the lack of male pygmy hippos in captivity complicates global breeding habits (which is one of the things tracked by the AZA in Species Survival Plans). He was the first birth at the zoo in 2024 and the park’s first pygmy hippo birth in ten years; before February, his parents were the zoo’s only pygmy hippos. Now Mailo is over a year old, growing up and making friends at the zoo. Check out Mailo on Attica Zoological Park’s social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Fun fact from Attica Zoological Park — Pygmy hippopotami give birth late in the evening or night. The zoo team had to hang up a camera to monitor the birth!

Ruka the pygmy hippo from ZooTampa

Ruka (ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Florida)

Ruka was born March 31, 2024, to parents Zsa Zsa and Howie at Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park. She’s the fifth pygmy hippo calf born at the zoo, also resulting from an SSP pairing. Ruka is a year old now and pretty independent, although ZooTampa reports on Instagram that she still relies on mom Zsa Zsa for some things. Pygmy hippos usually stay with their moms until they’re three years old, so while Ruka is growing fast she’s not full grown yet. Check out Ruka on ZooTampa at Lowry Park’s social media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter).

Fun fact from ZooTampa — Ungulates (hoofed animals) are separated into two large groups based on the number of toes they walk on! Pygmy Hippos are in the group of even-toed ungulates called Artiodactyla, because they have four functional toes on each foot.

Toni the pygmy hippo from Zoo Berlin

Toni (Zoo Berlin, Germany)

Toni was born June 3, 2024, to parents Debbie and Tobi at Zoo Berlin in Germany. Weeks before Moo Deng hit the scene, this adorable little one was wow-ing TikTok viewers — the video of her first bath currently has 13.3 million views! Zoo Berlin became the first European zoo to breed pygmy hippos successfully in 1921, and the program’s wins continue with Toni. That said, Toni is Debbie’s first baby to raise in 14 years; her older siblings were born in 2004, 2007, and 2008. Check out Toni on Zoo Berlin’s social media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. Watch the zoo’s best of Toni 2024 video to get all of that baby hippo cute in one place, but you’ll find more recent pictures of this growing girl on Instagram, where you can see her enjoying her outdoor enclosure even if you can’t make it to Berlin yourself.

Fun fact from Zoo Berlin — little pygmy hippos do not follow their mother; they lie safe in a hiding place where they are protected from predators and are sought out by their mothers to suckle.

Moo Deng (Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Thailand)

This celebrity in the making was born on July 10, and her sassy attitude — and tendency to try to chomp zookeeper Atthapon Nundee’s leg — catapulted her to viral sensation when Nundee started posting videos of her online. Her name, which translates to “bouncy pork,” does seem to reflect her character as she does zoomies around her enclosure, with a characteristic bounciness to her step. Her online popularity has brought crowds to Khao Kheow, who have had to be discouraged from harassing the young hippo. There are now limits on how long visitors can spend at the pygmy hippo enclosure, but a 24/7 livestream lets you watch Moo Deng as much as you want… though it’s a lot more mundane napping than Moo Deng’s feisty video clips might lead you to believe.

You can see Moo Deng on Nundee’s TikTok account, as well as the zoo’s YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok channels. Check Zoodio for the latest livestream.

Haggis (RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland)

Though we’ve already devoted a whole post to young Haggis, who was born on October 30, 2024, we would be remiss to leave her out of this list of the year’s baby pygmy hippos. The Edinburgh Zoo set Haggis up as a challenger for Moo Deng, announcing her birth under the headline “Moo Deng who?” But, really, we love all of these pygmy hippos equally. And while Scotland seems like an odd place for a hippo, Haggis has made herself at home and the zoo has written an ode to her for Burns Night. She’s clearly part of the family.

Check out Haggis on the Edinburgh Zoo’s social media: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).

Poppy (Metro Richmond Zoo, Virginia)

The youngest of the lot, little Poppy was a Christmas hippo, born on December 9, 2024. Instead of trying to compete with Moo Deng, she has accepted being part of the year’s baby pygmy hippo girl gang with grace… or as much grace as a baby hippo can have. After she was born, the zoo held a vote to decide her name, arriving at Poppy after two rounds of contentious voting that created a sharp divide amongst the Blizzard Watch team. [Ed’s note: I voted for “Hammie Mae.”]

With the weather warming up — and Poppy growing up — this little one has just started venturing outside for the first time in April, so locals can now visit her in person at the zoo. But even if you aren’t in the area, you can follow Poppy on the Metro Richmond Zoo’s social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).

Remember — these babies are all the more critical because pygmy hippos are a scarce species, with an estimated global population of roughly 2000-2500 adults in the wild. Humanity is their biggest enemy; habitat destruction and hunting in their native forests and swamps of West Africa (primarily Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire) have earned them an Endangered classification on the IUCN‘s Threatened Species (or Red) list and by the Zoological Society of London. That’s more than enough reason to celebrate their existence.

Originally published January 6, 2025; updated April 7, 2025

Blizzard Watch is made possible by people like you.
Please consider supporting our Patreon!

Advertisement

Join the Discussion

Blizzard Watch is a safe space for all readers. By leaving comments on this site you agree to follow our  commenting and community guidelines.

Toggle Dark Mode: