14 DAY TRIAL // Just a few days ago, a pygmy hippo calf living in captivity at Marwell Zoo in the United Kingdom got to enjoy the first swim ever, and keepers say that it loved and adored the experience.
Judging by the look on the baby hippo's face in the picture above, I for one doubt that its caretakers are lying when they say the calf is a big fan of water.
The female pygmy hippo calf was born at said facility on December 13 to mother Wendy.
Its name is Gloria, and, at the time of its birth, it weighed merely 13 pounds (roughly 6 kilograms) and measured about 6 inches (15 centimeters) in height, Zoo Borns reports.
“We think ‘Gloria’ really suits our new arrival. We wanted something that will fit well with her mum’s name ‘Wendy’ and we think they are great together,” zoo employee Kevin Saunders explained the choice of name.
Presently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers pygmy hippos to be an endangered species. Conservationists estimate that, due to habitat loss, their population will drop by about 20% over the next two decades.