Rare Pygmy Hippo Born in South Africa

A rare baby pygmy hippo enjoys the limelight at a wildlife center in Oudtshoorn, a town in South Africa's Western Cape.

Published

about 1 year ago

Categories

Science, Wildlife

Topics

Wildlife

People

Prince Harry

Places

South Africa, Africa

Tags

hippopotamus, animal, hippo

Transcript

Harry the hippopotamus is getting the royal treatment at a wildlife center in South Africa.And he should because of his royal namesake - Britain's Prince Harry.Toni Inggs has been taking special care of the rare baby pygmy hippo since birth.(SOUNDBITE) Toni Inggs, caretaker for Harry the hippopotamus, saying (English):"Well Harry was born on the 22nd of March on a Thursday morning. Unfortunately his mother would not let him get any milk from her and the first 36 hours of the life is the most crucial point, as at this stage they need all the colostrums from the mother that they can get. So after a few hours of leaving him with his mother, we decided to pull him as it was better for him and a better chance of a success rate so that's what happened, and he is very strong, he is very healthy and everything is going really well."Harry gets a bottle every three hours and a bath to keep his skin moist.(SOUNDBITE) Toni Inggs, caretaker for Harry the hippopotamus, saying (English):"Well the pygmy hippo is a really endangered species so for us to have bred one at the Cango Wildlife Ranch is a huge success, there is only 16 of them left in South Africa in facilities at the moment so we're really happy to welcome this little bundle of joy into our family."In fact, wildlife experts estimate that fewer than 3,000 of them still live in the wild.Kilmeny Duchardt, Reuters.