The Metro Richmond Zoo has announced its pygmy hippo has made her public debut in the outdoor Hippo Haven habitat.
Poppy has been living in an indoor climate-controlled habitat with her mother, Iris, during the winter.
With spring’s arrival, Poppy ventured outside for the first time with her mom on March 28.
The outdoor habitat features a large pool where they spend most of their time splashing, playing and cooling off, according to the zoo.
They leave the water a few times during the day to graze on the grass.
The outdoor habitat offers guests close-up views of the pygmy hippos on land and in the water. The pool has an underwater viewing window where visitors can come face-to-face with Poppy as she swims alongside her mom.
With fewer than 2,500 remaining in the wild, pygmy hippos are endangered.
Poppy fast facts
- Poppy is nearly four months old and weighs around 80 pounds. By five months, she will be 10 times her birth weight.
- Poppy still nurses, but she also nibbles on grain, hay, lettuce, celery, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and occasionally fruits like bananas and apples.
- She will stop nursing around six months old
- Poppy was born in the water on Dec. 9; she weighed 15 pounds at five days old
- Fully grown pygmy hippos can weigh up to 600 pounds
- The Richmond Metro Zoo is the only place in Virginia where visitors can see hippos
- A contest was launched to choose her name. Voters chose between Poppy, Juniper, Hammie Mae and Omi.
Related stories
- The votes are in: Richmond Metro Zoo announces name of its hippo calf born in December
- Metro Richmond Zoo welcomes a baby hippopotamus for Christmas
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Crystal Graham
