RICHMOND, Va. — The Metro Richmond Zoo wants your help choosing a name for their pygmy hippopotamus calf.
The name choices the Zoo narrowed it down to are: Petunia, Dumplin’, Penelope, Holly, Gayla or Olive.You can vote for your favorite here.
The zoo welcomed the baby hippo on Dec. 6 to parents Iris and Corwin after a seven-month gestational period. The baby weighed a healthy 16 pounds at birth and is growing quickly.
The Metro Richmond Zoo is currently the only place in Virginia where people can see hippos.
The pygmy hippo is native to West Africa and is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red list. With less than 2,500 mature individuals left in the wild, their survival in zoological parks is more certain than their survival in the wild. This birth plays an important role in helping protect this fascinating and rare species.
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