Newborn pygmy hippo at Berlin Zoo named Toni
Kyiv • UNN
The female pygmy hippo in Berlin was named Toni (Bulochka) after an internet trend. The animal weighs 20 kg and is learning to swim by pushing off the bottom.
A female pygmy hippo born on May 9 at the Berlin Zoo has been named Brötchen (Bun). The animal is currently being gradually introduced to water and is making her first attempts to swim. This was reported by Deutsche Welle, according to UNN.
Naming animals after food seems to be a popular internet trend right now,
He noted that Berlin has long known that "small round snacks are perfectly suited as names for animals": a female hippo named Bulette (Meatball) was "one of the most beloved residents of the Berlin Zoo" until 2005.
Brötchen was born on May 9 in the capital's zoo and already weighs about 20 kg. Currently, the female is being gradually introduced to water and is making her first attempts to swim. However, pygmy hippos do not swim in the classical sense of the word. Instead, they push off the bottom and glide through the water.
Pygmy hippos, first discovered in 1849, have become extremely rare animals today, the zoo noted. Fewer than 2,500 adults remain in the forests of West Africa. In some regions, they are considered extinct. The main reasons are deforestation for mining and the expansion of agricultural land.
As a reminder
Colombian authorities plan to cull up to 80 hippos brought into the country by drug lord Pablo Escobar due to environmental threats and uncontrolled population growth.