A female pygmy hippopotamus delivered a healthy calf at the Metro Richmond Zoo earlier this month, officials said — the third baby hippo born at the zoo within the past five years.
The mother, Iris, gave birth to the female calf on December 9 following a seven-month gestation, zoo officials said. The newborn, who has yet to be named, is the third calf for Iris and the father, Corwin.
One of the calves born previously was also a December baby, the zoo said.
“Most people don’t get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years,” zoo officials said in a news release Tuesday.
Five days after her birth, the baby had a neonatal exam and weighed 6.8 kilograms. Officials said that fully grown pygmy hippos can weigh up to 270 kilograms.
According to the Richmond-area zoo, pygmy hippos are an endangered West African species, and only 2,500 mature hippos remain in the wild. Officials said pygmy hippos are distinctive from regular hippos because they do not live in groups and are usually solitary or in pairs.
“For this reason, once Iris’ two previous calves grew up, they were moved to other zoological facilities to live with future mates and continue contributing to the conservation of their species,” the news release said.
