Overview

• Hugo was born Sept. 3 at about 11 pounds to pygmy hippos Penelope and Jahari.
• The calf is the first pygmy hippo ever born at John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Voters selected Hugo over Blitz and Sapo following a weeklong naming contest.
• Hugo and his mother remain behind the scenes as staff monitor bonding, with a first public appearance expected in late October.
• Zoo officials highlight pygmy hippos’ endangered status, with fewer than an estimated 2,500 in the wild, and note the parents’ participation in the Species Survival Plan.