A Virginia zoo is holding a naming contest for the newest member of its family, a female pygmy hippopotamus calf that was born leading up to Christmas.
“Most people don’t get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years,” zoo officials said in a news release.
The calf was born at the Metro Richmond Zoo on Dec. 9 to the hippo Iris, marking the third calf of the endangered species to be born at the zoo in the last five years, officials shared. All three have come between Iris and her mate, Corwin.
Now, to celebrate the birth, the zoo has launched a contest to name the new calf, with more than 14,000 flocking to vote. Among the potential names are Poppy, Juniper, Hammie Mae, and Omi.
The baby hippo weighed in at just 15 pounds during its neonatal exam, nowhere near the 600 pounds officials say she might hit one day.
When the hippo was declared endangered in 2015, only around 2,500 of them were left, but even that estimate was based on data from decades prior, according to the Zoological Society of London.
As efforts continue to restore their populations and bring them back from near extinction, births like the newest calf are a positive step in the right direction.
“This birth – like all of Iris’ births – plays an important role in helping protect this rare and elusive species. Unlike common hippos, pygmy hippos do not live in groups and are usually solitary or in pairs. For this reason, once Iris’ two previous calves grew up, they were moved to other zoological facilities to live with future mates and continue contributing to the conservation of their species,” the zoo wrote in the news release.