Hold your Friday horses, we’ve been blessed with not one but two precious pygmy hippo babies

We’ve been on something of a hiatus with Pygmy Hippo Watch, but couldn’t ignore two new baby pygmy hippos to celebrate. So I’m delighted to come back as an excited town crier to bring you all some late Friday joy in the form of the most adorable creatures possible: baby pygmy hippos. So let’s meet two newcomers to the pygmy hippo population: Maple and Piper

Maple was born August 2 at the Toronto Zoo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Born to mom Kindia and dad Harvey, Maple is Kindia’s third calf, following daughter Penelope in 2018. Like all pygmy hippo calves we’ve written about, Maple is super precocious and was navigating her birth space within a few hours of entering the world. In addition, she is incredibly special as the only pygmy hippo calf in the entire country, and one of three pygmy hippos in Canada in total (the other two being her parents).

Maple’s name reveal was performed by mom Kindia on August 21, celebrating her birthplace and “the country that has embraced her…Maple represents something uniquely Canadian: beloved, resilient, and shared by us all.” She is still not viewable by guests, as she needs some time to bond with her mom and grow; she may have tripled her birth weight in a few weeks, but it’s her personality exceeding her tiny body, as the zoo reports “she is becoming more curious and adventurous by the day.”

Follow Maple, Kindia, Harvey, and the Toronto Zoo on social media: Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

Piper was born July 31 at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was born to parents Otto and Gloria, and is Gloria’s third daughter after Amara in 2021 and our beloved Haggis in 2024 (Haggis departed in 2025 for another UK zoo as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP)). Piper was born the same day Gloria’s pregnancy was announced to the world in a video with father Otto enjoying some treats.

Piper’s name was announced the same week as her birth announcement, picked by zookeepers because “she’s like a little bagpipe always making cute little huffs and puffs.” She’s still quite small but passed her veterinary exam with no problems, receiving a nice warm bath in addition to her checks. As of August 18, visitors can get a peek at Piper (but need to remain quiet!) as she continues to bond with her mother in the zoo’s indoor habitat; this decision was made after “several successful two-hour trial openings.”

Follow Piper, Gloria, Otto, and the RZSS Edinburgh Zoo on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Now, we’ve said it before, but I’m beating this drum again. Pygmy hippos are very, VERY rare, with an estimated global population of roughly 2000-2500 adults in the wild, living primarily in pairs (instead of in a herd like their larger Nile-dwelling cousins). The species is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire. Sadly, humanity is their biggest threat, with habitat destruction and hunting landing them an Endangered classification on the IUCN‘s Threatened Species (or Red) list.

Maple and Piper — welcome to the world. We’re so happy to have you.

Images of Maple courtesy of Toronto Zoo, and images of Piper courtesy of the RZSS / Edinburgh Zoo.