Mar 20, 2024 News Hour Correspondent -

Rare hippo species born in Athens Zoo

The first birth at the Attica Zoological Park in Athens in 2024 brought great joy to conservationists as a rare and endangered potamus joined a Greek hippo family.

Pygmy hippos are classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There are thought to be between 2,000 and 5,000 in the wild. In western Africa, their native habitats are wetlands and rainforests.

Mikolas, a newborn pygmy hippopotamus calf, appears with its mother, Malaya, at the safari park in Dvur Kralove, Czech Republic, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The male baby hippo was born on Dec. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

“Every captive birth of pygmy hippos is extremely important. We’re very happy to see this baby grow into a healthy adult hippo, and hopefully one day reproduce,” the zoo’s wildlife veterinarian Noi Psaroudaki told Reuters news agency in a report published Wednesday.