{"id":589281,"date":"2026-08-10T21:32:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T21:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/589281\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T21:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T21:32:49","slug":"toronto-zoo-announces-birth-of-pygmy-hippo-calf-third-for-mother-kindia-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/589281\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto zoo announces birth of pygmy hippo calf, third for mother Kindia | Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto<\/a> Zoo has announced the birth of a female pygmy hippo calf.<\/p>\n

Kindia, the zoo\u2019s 20-year-old pygmy hippo, started showing signs of labor at around 8.15am last Sunday, it said. Around four hours later, the calf\u2019s feet emerged and after 1.5 hours of active labor, Kindia successfully gave birth to the baby pygmy hippo.<\/p>\n

Within 15 minutes of birth, the calf began trying to stand and was \u201cconfidently navigating the space\u201d a few hours later, the zoo said, adding that the calf was seen nursing approximately 4.5 hours after birth.<\/p>\n

The zoo has not identified the calf yet, but said that it is doing well alongside its mother. According to the zoo, the newborn is Kindia\u2019s third calf. Kindia became pregnant after she was introduced to a 31-year-old male pygmy hippo named Harvey for eight days in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis wonderful news comes with both hope and caution,\u201d the zoo said<\/a>. \u201cKindia successfully raised her daughter Penelope in 2018, and calf survival for this species can be challenging. Our team will continue to closely monitor both mom and calf around the clock during these important first days to ensure they continue to progress well together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting the species\u2019 endangered status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature\u2019s red list, Dolf DeJong, the Toronto Zoo\u2019s CEO, said: \u201cWelcoming a pygmy hippo calf is far more than a celebration of new life. Pygmy hippos are endangered, and their wild populations continue to decline due to habitat loss and human pressures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis birth represents the critical role modern accredited zoos play in conservation, scientific collaboration, and maintaining healthy populations that contribute to the long-term survival of the species.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only approximately 2,000 to 3,000 pygmy hippos are believed to remain in the wild.<\/p>\n

With adult pygmy hippos weighing anywhere from 330lb to 660lb and standing around 2.5ft tall, the species are native to the forests and swamps of west Africa. In recent decades however, pygmy hippos have faced growing threats <\/a>to their habitat including logging, mining, farming activities as well as human settlement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Zoo has announced the birth of a female pygmy hippo calf. Kindia, the zoo\u2019s 20-year-old pygmy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-589281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}