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Toronto just got its very own Moo Deng.
The Toronto Zoo says a female pygmy hippo calf was born Sunday morning to 20-year-old mother Kindia.
The zoo says the calf took her first steps within minutes of her birth and was confidently navigating her enclosure within a few hours.
It says the newborn is Kindia’s third calf, and the pygmy hippo is an attentive and protective mother.
Dolf DeJong, the zoo’s CEO, says in a statement that the birth is especially exciting because pygmy hippos are endangered amid habitat loss from logging and human settlements.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says only about 2,000 to 3,000 pygmy hippos are believed to remain in the wild.
The zoo says the public can’t yet see the calf while she bonds with her mother under zookeepers’ careful watch, as calf survival can be challenging for the species.
In July, thousands of people flocked to a Thai zoo to celebrate the second birthday of Moo Deng, another baby pygmy hippo that has become a social media sensation.
