Meet Bubbles: The first pygmy hippo born in Arizona serves important purpose
Arizona hippo parents welcomed the first pygmy hippo born in the state, a baby boy named Bubbles. The relationship between mom and dad was not love at first sight though.
Hippo love story: Welcome baby Bubbles
Meet Bubbles, the beloved baby pygmy hippo born at the Wildlife World Zoo in Arizona. FOX 10's Nicole Garcia introduces us and talks to matchmaker/Director of the zoo Kristy Hayden about what started out as a rocky first date.
LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. - The Wildlife World Zoo in Arizona welcomed a new addition, and he’s an endangered one.
A pygmy hippo gave birth to a healthy baby boy about a month ago, and now, a pair of pygmy hippos are adjusting to being new parents.
Baby Bubbles is starting to get the hang of walking while sticking close to his mother, Nessie.
Wild love story
The story began two years ago when Nessie met Tootsie Roll.
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Baby bubbles is learning to walk.
(FOX 10)
"Well this is a love story that’s a couple years in the making," says Kristy Hayden, Wildlife World Zoo director. "Once Nessie got pregnant, she was pregnant for about 8 months."
Nessie used to be the only pygmy hippo at the zoo.
"We needed a male pygmy hippo with important genetic lineage because it’s important when creating a breeding program to have genetic diversity," she explained.
When Tootsie Roll was first introduced to Nessie, it wasn’t quite love at first sight. But things changed and two years later, they welcomed little Bubbles into the world.
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Bubbles with mama Nessie.
(FOX 10)
"We came up with the name Bubbles because he’s so cute and bubbly," Hayden said. "Pygmy hippos are about 10 pounds when they’re born, unlike their larger cousins. Full-grown, they only get up to 600 pounds."
Bubbles is the first pygmy hippopotamus born in Arizona, and hopefully not the last.
"These guys are extremely endangered. There’s only a few thousand left in the wild. So to have a breeding program is huge," Hayden said.
The little hippo family plans to grow bigger. The Wildlife World Zoo is looking forward to welcoming more baby hippos in the years to come.