[IN IMAGES] An American zoo welcomes an adorable baby hippopotamus for Christmas

A Virginia zoo in the United States received a very special Christmas gift with the birth of an endangered pygmy hippopotamus.

[IN IMAGES] An American zoo welcomes an adorable baby hippopotamus for Christmas

A Virginia zoo in the United States received a very special Christmas gift with the birth of an endangered pygmy hippopotamus.

The Metro Richmond Zoo welcomed the baby on December 6, according to a statement. The little one, who does not yet have a name, weighed 16 pounds at birth and is growing rapidly. The animal is the second of its kind to be born in the state of Virginia.

If the baby and his mother, Iris, are currently isolated “comfortably”, they will soon be able to be visited by the curious who will go to the zoo.

Pygmy hippos are an endangered species; there are only 2,500 left in the world, notably in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

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