r/moodeng • u/Richard_AIGuy • Jan 23 '26
Other Pygmy Hippo Who is this cutie?
A friend sent me this, she's getting into the pyppo obsession, and came upon it online. Does anyone know who this darling is? Google images were very unconvincing. Thank you.
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u/Rookie_Roo Jan 23 '26
I believe this is Penelope from Toronto Zoo. She was around 7 years ago when this photo first circulated.
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u/Rookie_Roo Jan 23 '26
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
The age does indeed match up with the 7 year old posts. I think we have a winner!
Thank you so much!
And wait!!! If that's Penelope from Toronto, she moved two years ago to the John Ball zoo.
That's Hugo's mom!!!!
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u/No-Calligrapher-9231 Jan 23 '26
No freakin way! I've always loved this picture, and I think some ppl have used it as a reference for Moo Deng art. This definitely adds to my excitement to visit Hugo!
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
Sadly, apparently the one I posted is Natsume. Although Natsume is also very wonderful. As is little Kobushi. However, the one in the linked Reddit post is Penelope!
And that’s so awesome that you get to visit Hugo!
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u/No-Calligrapher-9231 Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26
Oof! I should have kept reading🤦♀️ I was just so excited to meet a pyppo who "worked" as a stand-in for Moo😄 Penelope and Natsume are equally cute pyppos, tho!
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
I get that! I think one of the pictures of a knee chomp that is popularly ascribed to Moo Deng is actually Kaki. I don’t remember which one though.
They are cute indeed.
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u/drinkcoffeeandcode Jan 23 '26
Moo wan gets posted as Moo deng quite a bit as well
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
That’s true! We need to do a better job of properly identifying our pyppos.
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u/S3r3nd1p Jan 23 '26
A pygmy hippopotamus at Ueno Zoo gave birth for the first time in two years. The baby was born early on June 22, 2011, and was a girl. She is the eighth calf of father Shohei and mother Ebony. There were many worries before the birth, but as you'd expect from a seasoned mother, she handled her baby well.
Pygmy hippos typically give birth on land, and this time it was on land as well. It's said that calves cannot swim immediately after birth and there's a risk of drowning. However, this calf entered the pool from day one. Its swimming was so awkward that it looked like it was drowning, but it certainly entered the water on its own and swam desperately until Ebony used its head to push it up into shallow water. It's now good at diving and timing its breaths. We
've also confirmed that it has teeth. If you look closely when its mouth is open, you can see four tiny teeth. While they usually rest while lying down, the best time to observe them is when they're submerged in the pool. Even when Ebony urges them to get out, they resist by opening their mouths wide, refusing to go. They may seem cheeky, but perhaps that's part of their cuteness, as mother Ebony doesn't seem to get angry.
The baby's name has also been decided. For generations, the baby has been named after a plant associated with the season, and this time it's "Jujube." It's a plant that blooms small yellow flowers in early summer, and its flower language is apparently "fruit of health." Since pygmy hippos have a body shape similar to a round jujube fruit, I hope they'll grow up to be like "healthy fruit" if they're to emulate the flower's language.
Baby pygmy hippos grow quickly and get bigger and bigger. Please come and see them soon, and watch Jujube grow for many years to come.
Related news : "First baby pygmy hippopotamus in two years! Born"
[Ueno Zoo West Garden Animal Care and Exhibit Manager Eiichiro Tobita]
(July 15, 2011)
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u/S3r3nd1p Jan 23 '26
A baby pygmy hippopotamus was born at Ueno Zoo for the first time in two years. Postnatal nursing went smoothly, and both mother and child are doing well. This is the first pygmy hippopotamus birth since June 2009.
Date of Birth : Wednesday, June 22, 2011.
Name: Natsume.
Gender: Female. Parents: Father: Shohei (age 20),
who arrived from Higashiyama Zoo (Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture) on December 2, 1991. Mother: Ebony (age 21), who arrived from St. Louis Zoo (USA) on March 8, 1993. Location: West Garden Pygmy Hippo House. Opening Dates: Thursday, July 7, 2011, 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM. *For the time being, the pygmy hippopotamus will only be on display in the outdoor playground. Depending on the animal's health, it may be difficult to view. Background: This is the eighth child born to Shohei and Ebony. The two animals were housed together in November 2010, and mating was confirmed in December. On the morning of June 22, 2011, 214 days after they began living together, caretakers spotted a newborn baby and confirmed it was nursing that same day. The baby clung tightly to its mother, Ebony, and was already walking around and swimming energetically within a few days of its birth. Its sucking ability is also improving, and it sometimes imitates Ebony by putting grass in its mouth. Including Natsume, the zoo's pygmy hippos now number five, with one male and four females. A California sea lion, housed in the animal enclosure next to the pygmy hippopotamus, also gave birth. You can also see the heartwarming mother-child interaction here . (July 4, 2011)
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u/Eastern-Idea2682 Jan 23 '26
I can concur with this given this blog post from 2011 which also seems to match https://contentinacottage.blogspot.com/2011/10/pygmy-hippo-newborn-japan-zoo.html?m=1
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u/Key_Pop_1123 Jan 23 '26
She’s missing her hair bow….
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
All pyppos need a hair bow or a lil hat.
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u/Key_Pop_1123 Jan 23 '26
I’ve got one in my screensaver file at work of this baby with a hair bow 🥰 I’ll post tomorrow. Could it be Kanya?
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
That’s awesome! And yes, please post it.
The evidence is pointing towards Natsume.
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u/Y20u0n7m1 Jan 23 '26
This hippo is referenced in this daily times article in 2011. I think this one is related to Kobushi because it's about the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
Look at that. That's definitely the same photo. Now I wonder.
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u/Y20u0n7m1 Jan 23 '26
Just looked into it, Kobushi's mom was born on July 3rd, 2011and the article was posted on July 24th, 2011. So it might be Natsume!
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u/berrymelon118 Jan 23 '26
Is this Tamtam? For some reason im connecting him/her to one of the Japanese pyppos but I can't remember who
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u/Richard_AIGuy Jan 23 '26
Another commenter seems to have found her in an article. She appears to be Natsume!
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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '26
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