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

The Supreme Court Just Stepped In To Preserve Mail Access To The Most Common Abortion Medication In The US

May 6, 2026

The Supreme Court stepped in on Monday to temporarily preserve telehealth and mail access to mifepristone, the medication used in more than 60 percent of abortions in the United States, while the justices review emergency appeals challenging a lower court ruling that had reinstated a nationwide requirement that the drug

Read More
Happy News

Scientists Just Proved For The First Time That Human Hearts Can Repair Themselves After A Heart Attack

May 6, 2026

For decades, medicine has operated on a widely accepted assumption: when a heart attack destroys heart muscle cells, they are gone permanently, replaced by scar tissue, with no hope of natural repair. A landmark study from the University of Sydney, the Baird Institute, and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital has

Read More
Happy News

He Was One Of The First People To Get A Pig Kidney And His Story Traces The Golden Age Of Transplant Medicine

May 6, 2026

Tim Andrews of Concord, New Hampshire was running out of options three years ago when doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital offered him a chance at something the world had never seen: a genetically modified pig kidney, transplanted into a living human being. Andrews became one of the first 10 people

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.