14 DAY TRIAL // Hippos are very good swimmers, so, unless they want to bring shame to their family, calves have no choice except figure out how to get about in water while still very young.
Luckily, the baby pygmy hippo recently born at Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo is well aware of these rules of conduct. Hence the fact that, despite being merely two weeks old, it has already ventured in the indoor pool in its enclosure. Zoo Borns tells us that the baby hippo was born at this facility on October 27 to mother Ellen and dad Otto. The latter isn't exactly the parent of the year, but Ellen is doing a terrific job looking after the calf.
“A very maternal animal, Ellen has proven herself to be a fantastic parent to her offspring. Baby Adana is just over a week old now and is feeding well from mum.”
“Growing in confidence every day, Adana has ventured into the water under the watchful eye of mum. Even though Pygmy Hippos are incredible swimmers, it’s a little known fact the Hippo calves need to be taught how to swim by their mothers,” keeper Lorna Hughes says.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently considers pygmy hippos an endangered species. Habitat destruction is the main reason why just 3,000 such animals are now left in the wild.