Hooray, the newborn pygmy hippo is a boy!

ZooParc Overloon zookeepers discovered this morning that the pygmy hippopotamus born last week is a male! The keepers chose the name Tobie for the pygmy hippopotamus from all the entries in the name contest. The fact that the pygmy hippo is a young male makes this birth an extra joyous occasion. Would you like to come and admire Tobie? Order youronline tickets at a discount!

"There are only just over 100 pygmy hippopotami living in all of europe, and of these, the vast majority are female. Our little descendant can therefore contribute to the European breeding program of pygmy hippopotami in the future. And that is badly needed because dwarf hippos are seriously threatened in the wild," says zookeeper Steven van den Heuvel. A precise estimate of the number of pygmy hippos in the wild is very difficult to make, because they live in the middle of Africa's tropical jungle. What is known, however, is that it will be about only a few thousand.

And his name is ... Tobie!

Last weekend, visitors to ZooParc Overloon were allowed to enter a name contest. From hundreds of entries, the keepers chose the name Tobie. This name was coined by Senna of 9 years old. She and her family won a special Meet & Greet with dwarf hippo Tobie, and got to admire him from up close.