Zoom06 19Hippoimg 8621 — Baby hippo Meela and Mother Lola making their public debut. (Janet Collins)

It’s always a good day when you get to see a baby hippo. The Montgomery Zoo is celebrating the birth of their most adorable new addition—Meela the pygmy hippopotamus calf. Read on for details on her zoo debut.

New Hippo Alert

On May 27, an adorable female pygmy hippopotamus calf—Meela—came into the world at the Montgomery Zoo. Since then, the calf and her mother Lola have been in a special nursing suite in the Zoo’s South America realm.

Today, Wednesday, June 28, Meela will make her public debut. Meela’s birth is an occasion to be celebrated, and not just for the sake of cuteness.

According to the Zoo, Meela’s birth is special as the pygmy hippo is an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN).

It has been estimated that there are only around 2,000-3,000 pygmy hippos left in their native habitat, with numbers declining, as their habitat is destroyed.

Joining the family

Meela is the sixth pygmy hippo birth in the last seven years at the Zoo. You may remember seeing Hadari, the male pygmy hippo born at Montgomery Zoo in 2022. Hadari has recently moved and is now adapting to his new home in the Pittsburgh Zoo.

As for other calves recently born at Montgomery Zoo, Monty (born in 2016) and Levi (born in 2018) are continuing to mature and thrive at their home in Virginia’s Greater Richmond Zoo.

You can find Meela, Lola and other adult pygmy hippopotamuses in their permanent exhibit in the Africa realm of the Zoo.