Cancel your weekend plans and beeline for Taronga Zoo – the harbourside zoo has just welcomed a four-week-old female pygmy hippopotamus into the open air, and we can’t quite get over the pictures of her and her mum hanging out in the pool.
The Taronga team made the announcement yesterday, February 15 – in line with World Hippo Day (yes, there really is a day for everything). The baby calf has been born to Australasia’s only breeding pair, Kambiri and Fergus, and has been named by the Taronga team as ‘Lololi’ (pronounced Lol-ol-i), a West African name meaning ‘there is always love’.
Born exactly a month ago today (on January 16, 2024) and weighing only 4kg, Lololi has been bonding with her mum Kambiri at Taronga’s behind-the-scenes nursery, and only now will visitors to the zoo get the chance to glimpse her in the open air. The images we've seen of the mum and daughter splashing in the shallows are a little too cute to handle.
“Kambiri and the calf have been hitting all milestones we hope to observe - suckling, swimming, and growing daily,” explains Senior Ungulate Keeper Renae Moss.
As with many of the animals cared for at Taronga, Pygmy Hippos are listed as endangered – with an estimated population of less than 2,500 remaining in the wild due to logging, mining and agriculture destroying their natural habitat. Native to West Africa, The Taronga Conservation Society is home to the only breeding pair of pygmy hippos in Australasia, and now their family is a family of three.
If you’re keen to catch baby Lololi, your best bet is to visit Taronga in the morning – as pygmy hippos are generally nocturnal. So head over early, then spend the rest of the day exploring Sydney’s leafy north. Want to make a day of it? Find out what's happening at Twilight at Taronga.