Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Virginia Zoo Welcomes Adorable Pygmy Hippo Calf

The Metro Richmond Zoo is celebrating the arrival of an adorable baby pygmy hippo, born just before Christmas. The female calf, born to proud parents Iris and Corwin, is their third daughter in under five years. Born in an indoor pool after a seven-month gestation, the little one immediately showcased her instincts by moving in the water right away.

Weighing a healthy 15 pounds at just five days old, the calf is expected to grow up to 600 pounds. For now, she’s bonding privately with her experienced and protective mother, Iris, away from public view. Zoo officials report that the newborn is thriving, nursing well, and growing quickly.

The birth is a vital boost for the endangered pygmy hippo species, which faces threats like habitat loss and poaching. With fewer than 2,500 mature pygmy hippos remaining in the wild, the zoo’s breeding efforts play a crucial role in their conservation. Iris’ previous calves have been moved to other zoological facilities to contribute to the species’ survival.

Describing the occasion as an exciting gift, the zoo expressed excitement over the rare and precious addition. “Most people don’t get a hippopotamus for Christmas, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years,” they shared.

PrevPreviousCommunity Rallies to Save Baltimore Pizzeria in a Holiday Miracle
NextGenerous Donation of Over $103M to Boost Native Financial InstitutionsNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Scientists May Have Finally “Seen” Dark Matter

May 9, 2026

For nearly a century, dark matter has been one of the greatest mysteries in all of science. We know it exists as it makes up an estimated 85% of the universe’s total mass and acts as invisible gravitational scaffolding holding galaxies together, but no one has ever directly observed it.

Read More
Happy News

Coral Reefs Are Hiding An Almost Entirely Unstudied Universe Of Potential Medicine

May 9, 2026

Scientists at the University of Galway and an international consortium have discovered that coral reefs contain an almost entirely unstudied universe of microbial life, publishing a study in Nature that reconstructed the genomes of 645 microbial species from 99 coral reefs across 32 Pacific islands, with more than 99 percent

Read More
Happy News

A Rare Superbloom Is Turning Part Of Redwood National Park Purple And There Are Only Weeks To See It

May 9, 2026

Something extraordinary and fleeting is happening right now in Northern California, where the Bald Hills grasslands above the redwood canopy in Redwood National Park have erupted into a rare lupine superbloom, turning a stretch of elevated landscape off a remote road near Orick into a sweeping sea of purple, blue,

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.