Tampa Lowry Park Zoo had a nine pound early Christmas present

Tampa’sLowry Park Zoo with the birth of a rare baby in an adorable pygmy package had an early Christmas.  An endangered pygmy hippopotamus was born in the early morning on Dec. 1, 2017 to experienced mother Zsa Zsa, weighing in at an estimated 9 pounds. The newborn is one of only 32 pygmy hippos in the Species Survival Program making it a rare gift for the Tampa community. This is the fourth offspring for Zsa Zsa, and the fourth birth of this species in the Zoo’s history.

“Pygmy hippos are elusive and extremely rare in the wild with only a few thousand thought to be left in the world,” said Chris Massaro, General Curator at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. “We’re one of only 13 zoos in the United States to care for this unique species so this birth is especially important for us, and the entire Pygmy hippo population.”

Pygmy hippos, as their name implies, are smaller than their Nile hippo relative. Unlike the more common river hippo which live in large pods in rivers throughout much of eastern and southern Africa, pygmy hippos are much rarer, living solitary, elusive lives in lowland forests, mainly confined to Liberiain West Africa, with small numbers in neighboring countries. At full grown, pygmy hippos weigh in at only a few hundred pounds, and stand only about three feet tall.

The Zoo plans on announcing the gender of the new addition with a special gender reveal. More news on the name of the calf will be revealed in the coming weeks. Guests can see the Pygmy hippo calf in its habitat in Ituri Forest located in Safari Africa.