A newborn pygmy hippo is here. And he’s just gorgeous.
Hello tiny, little pygmy hippo. Welcome to the world, we already love you. This little guy is two weeks old, and just made his debut at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. Don’t you just want to pick up and cuddle him forever?
This newborn male calf — who doesn’t have a name yet — is the first pygmy hippo to be born at the zoo in 34 years. Sadly, pygmy hippos are on the endangered list, and the World Conservation Unit estimates that there are less than 3,000 left out in the wild. That’s not a good number, so it’s a GREAT thing you showed up, adorable new hippo.
One of the Melbourne Zoo’s zookeepers, James Uren, told ABC News Australia that the little guy is doing great, but still sticking pretty close to mom, Petre. “Whenever he calls out to her she comes over straight away and looks after him,” he explained, adding that the new baby already has a funny personality for a hippo.
“He’ll run around with mouth open, backing up, looking goofy but he conks out pretty quickly.”
Next up for this calf is swimming lessons, since pygmy hippos can go days at a time submerged in the water. But for now, it’s still hanging out with mom, eating lots of food, being bathed by zookeepers, and staying 100% adorable. You can check out The Guardian’s whole video about the newest addition to the Melbourne Zoo below!
[Images via here.]