The Metro Richmond Zoo has a brand-new member -- and you can help decide her name.
On Dec. 9, just two weeks before Christmas, a baby pygmy hippo was born at the zoo in Richmond, Virginia. The baby girl is the third hippo calf born to Metro Richmond Zoo resident pygmy hippos Iris and Corwin, and the first born there since fellow pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral at the end of the summer.
The zoo announced the new baby pygmy hippo's arrival with a Christmas Eve press release, and a video of the baby posted to YouTube. The soundtrack of that video is -- what else? -- "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" by Gayla Peevey.
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After gestating for 7 months, Iris gave birth to this baby in water -- the first time she's done so. Baby pygmy hippos can be born on land or in water, and the new calf was born in the indoor pool at the Metro Richmond Zoo.
According to the zoo, the baby hippo's natural instincts kicked in right away, and she immediately began moving through the water.
During a neonatal exam by veterinarians just five days after birth, the baby pygmy hippo weighed in at a healthy (and adorable) 15 pounds.
She won't stay that small forever, though. By the time she's all grown up, the new hippo could weight as much as 600 pounds, according to the Metro Richmond Zoo.
And yes, that is still a pygmy-sized weight when compared to your average common hippopotamus, which ranges from around 3,000 to 9,000 pounds.
According to the Metro Richmond Zoo, pygmy hippos are an endangered species native to West Africa, where they live in swamps and rivers. The animals do not typically live in groups, and are usually found on their own or in pairs.
The endangered species, of which there are fewer than 2,500 left in the wild, has gotten an outsized amount of attention this year thanks to internet celebrity Moo Deng. That baby hippo, born at a zoo in Thailand, went viral at the end of the summer for her spunky, bite-y personality and delightfully pink cheeks.
Her fame brought attention to a few other pygmy hippos around the world, including Haggis at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland.
Richmond's brand-new pygmy hippo is already getting some of that love online. Commenters on the zoo's Instagram immediately began asking when they could come visit.
Iris and the baby were moved to "a cozy, hay-bedded enclosure off-exhibit," for privacy while the two hippos bonded after the birth. They will both eventually move back to the indoor pool area so zoo visitors can see the baby hippo, but the zoo did not put a timeline on that process.
In the meantime, the Richmond zoo is holding a vote to see decide what to name their newest member.
Name options include "Poppy," a flower just like mom Iris; "Juniper," an evergreen shrub reminiscent of the winter she was born; "Hammie Mae," a Virginia-ham inspired name after her southern heritage; or "Omi," which means "water" in the West African Yoruba language.
