Maple loves playing in shallow pools and has started mouthing veggies
What looks like a shiny eggplant with legs, was nicknamed “Tiny Tank,” and “often gets the zoomies?” It’s the Toronto Zoo’s brand new baby pygmy hippopotamus named Maple. Born on August 2nd, the female calf is currently living behind the scenes in “Little Hippo Hollow” while she grows and bonds with her mother.
Born at 8.8lbs, the baby doubled her body weight in her first week, which the zoo says is a great sign of healthy development. She stood just 15 minutes after birth and within a few hours was already nursing and exploring her environment.
The Zoo says she’s “especially taken with water, confidently playing in shallow pools, drinking from puddles and water bowls and getting ready to graduate to larger pools.” While she still exclusively nurses, she’s also taken to “mouthing hay and veggies.”
While the Zoo hasn’t yet announced when Maple will make her public debut, her older sister, Penelope, was 40 days old when she made her grand entrance at the African Rainforest Pavilion in 2018. She was then named in early October following an online public voting contest.
If the Zoo follows the same schedule with Maple, we can expect her to emerge from Little Hippo Hollow alongside her mother, Kindia, sometime in early to mid September. The Zoo announced her name on social media on August 21.
In the meantime, visitors to the zoo can see her father, Harvey, on display in the African Rainforest Pavilion.
Pygmy hippos are an endangered species with only 2000-3000 still living in the wild. The Toronto Zoo participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Pygmy Hippo Species Survival Plan, a “breeding and conservation program that manages genetic diversity and supports wild protection in West Africa.”
She stood just 15 minutes after birth and within a few hours was already nursing
Kindia, age 20, and Harvey, age 31, are a breeding pair. Penelope, their first calf, was transferred to the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids Michigan in June 2023. A few months later, she was introduced to male pygmy hippo Jahari, who arrived from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. In September of 2025 Penelope and Jahari welcomed baby Hugo.
