An adorable baby pygmy hippo was introduced into the Zoo Miami exhibit on Thursday.
The little guy is still unnamed but according to a release from Zoo Miami the baby and his mother are enjoying their new surroundings.
This pygmy hippo is only the second one born to Zoo Miami. The first was born in 2010.
Zoo Miami on pygmy hippos:
Pygmy hippos are a much smaller version of their well-known cousins, the common river hippo, and usually weigh between 400 and 600 pounds whereas river hippos can reach 6,000 pounds. In addition, they are less aquatic than river hippos and are usually seen alone or in pairs rather than in large groups. Pygmy hippos are also much rarer and are classified as endangered with only about 3,000 individuals believed to be left in the wild where they feed on a variety of plants and fruits. They are restricted to small isolated populations within the interior forests and rivers of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast where they are threatened by deforestation and hunting for meat. Because of their rarity and shy behavior, very little is known about their habits in the wild.
