Berlin Zoo: Pygmy hippo named Brötchen one month after its birth, Enie van de Meiklokjes honorary sponsor
She’s tiny, round and too cute to handle. The zoo has shared new videos as it reveals the pygmy hippo’s adorable name.
The newest and cutest resident at a zoo has been given a very fitting name.
The pygmy hippo was born on May 9 to mum Debbie, weighing in at 5.9 kilograms.
A month later, the adorable animal has been named.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Breaking news from our bakery,” the zoo wrote on social media on Wednesday.
“It’s small, it’s round, and now officially has a name: Brötchen (“bread roll”)!”
The German actress Enie van de Meiklokjes has taken on the honorary sponsorship of the baby mammal.
Since Brötchen’s birth, the zoo said she had built up confidence swimming and diving alongside her mum, calling her “a water lover”.
For now, she remains in a smaller pool but the zoo said it “won’t be long” before she moves into the larger enclosure and makes her public debut.
Compared with regular hippopotamuses, pygmy hippos are up to 10 times smaller and much less aquatic than their counterparts.
While the species spend most of their time on land, they still have webbed feet so they don’t sink into the mud of riverbeds.
The zoo also used the name announcement to highlight the dangers faced by pygmy hippos in the wild.
“While Brötchen is now exploring her outdoor enclosure every day with her mother Debbie, her endangered relatives in West Africa are fighting for survival: fewer than 2,500 adult pygmy hippos remain in their natural habitat,” the post read.
“Protecting them is therefore more important than ever.”
The species can live up to 42 years in the wild or 55 years in human care.
Brötchen’s big sister Toni was relocated to the Mulhouse Zoo in Alsace, France in August.
Toni was born a twin, a rarity among pygmy hippos, before her sibling died soon after birth.
Being one of two, she was significantly smaller and lighter than average.
Toni became a viral sensation after her birth in mid-2024, doubling Berlin Zoo’s social media following.
It is hoped that both Brötchen and Toni will one day reproduce and help grow the population of pygmy hippopotamuses, but the species will not reach sexual maturity until the age of five.
