Hip Hippo Yay
My missus says that when I playing tennis I run like a baby hippo. Now I’m over 6 foot and nobody would describe me as an elegant mover, but it’s a bit rich as I am pretty fast, dodgy knee allowing! But if you are interested in baby hippos in general then you will be as excited as I am with the news that there is a new arrival at Edinburgh and it is a baby pygmy hippopotamus. The new calf was born to parents Otto and Gloria on 31 July. It was a delicate few days with the newborn before they could tell which sex the hippo was, but after some good bonding with its mother the baby has been named Piper and we can reveal it’s a girl. And like many hippos she already has an outsize personality.
The endangered Pygmy hippos are from West Africa where the species suffer along with many others from the habitat destruction associated with mining and forestry works. Piper’s arrival was something of a surprise to her keepers at the zoo as Gloria’s pregnancy wasn’t supposed to be so advanced, but now the extremely cute calf is up and around and starring in a TickTock video along with her keeper.
Pygmy hippos are very much like pygmy pigs in their popularity with the general public and the zoo expects a surge in interest with this rare new baby. In fact a very rare arrival as there are estimated only to be some 2,000 and 2,500 pygmy hippos left in the wild. So Gloria is doing her bit to the propagation of the species as she has now given birth to her third calf and previously producing - Amara in 2021 and Haggis in 2024.
If you know someone who has become a new mother or father then look no further than James Pirie, established in 1890, to find the perfect welcoming gift that will become an instant family heirloom. Not to be too traditional, but check out a lovely pink paperweight for a girl from our friends at Caithness it’s the Little Stars Pink Glass Paperweight a Celebration. It’s also available in blue. It comes with free gift wrapping when you tick the box at check out.
https://www.jamespirie.com/little-stars-pink-glass-paperweight-50mm-celebration-caithness-glass.html
