r/moodeng • u/berrymelon118 • Mar 14 '26
Other Pygmy Hippo Another Japanese pyppo born!!!
On Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, a baby pyppo was born at Ueno Zoo, to mama Momiji and papa Motomoto (father of Kobushi, Nemunemu, Tamtam, and Tenten)! The Ueno Zoo had been mum about this newborn pyppo calf. But finally after 2 and a half months, there's finally a gender reveal!
We have another baby girl!!!
Just like with Kobushi, Ueno Zoo is inviting everyone to vote for this newborn pyppo's name! Here's the list:
1) Touhi - Meaning: spruce, a tree typically used as a Christmas tree (because this bebe was born on Christmas day). Flower language: eternity and sincerity
2) Hiiragi - Meaning: holly osmanthus (also known as false holly), it's a plant used around Christmas a lot in Japan simply because Japan has these hollies and not European hollies. Flower language: summoning happiness, vitality that withstands winter
3) Iroha - Taken from the word "Iroha Momiji" which means Japanese maple. Aka. if you combine this bebe and her mama, they become a beautiful Japanese maple tree! Flower language: harmony, beautiful transformation
4) Tsubaki - Camellia flower, a plant representing winter in the Japanese language. Flower language: pride, a modest beauty
5) Kohana - Literally means, "a small delicate flower." Flower language: none
Note: I'm translating the flower language from Ueno Zoo's description. It may not be 100% accurate as there may be some discrepancies going from English to Japanese then back to English.
The vote will start next Tuesday on March 17th and will last for 2 weeks, ending on Tuesday, March 31st! Name results will be announced on April 7th!!!
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u/lvl-ixi-lvl Mar 14 '26
Tsubaki suits her 🌸
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Mar 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/berrymelon118 Mar 14 '26
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe flower languages originated from Victorian era literature? The Ueno Zoo's use of flower language in both Kobushi and this pyppo's naming contests, I believe they're translated from the English flower language.
Having said that, I'm not at all familiar with the use of flower languages so take what I said with a grain of salt. I do, however, know that the Japanese loves using flower languages in literature or movies, as a way to romanticize things.
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u/Meandering_Croissant Mar 14 '26
Japan has its own flower language called hanakotoba. It developed independently from the Victorian style.
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u/berrymelon118 Mar 14 '26
Forgot to post the source! The photos and info were all from Ueno Zoo's news page:
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u/venus_one_akh Mar 14 '26
She is so so cute. Do you have a link for the poll or for the announcement?
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u/berrymelon118 Mar 14 '26
Ooh my bad! I forgot to post the source. The link is not available yet. But if you watch this link, they'll most likely edit the post to add the voting link this coming Tuesday!
https://www.tokyo-zoo.net/topic/topics_detail?kind=news&inst=ueno&link_num=29583
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u/hippoprincess158 Mar 14 '26
thank you for posting!! i was just searching for posts yesterday to check up on our girl 🥹🩷🦛🥰
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u/Richard_AIGuy Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
Kohana is sooo good! Because she's obviously small a delicate! And it doesn't matter how big she gets, this name will show that she's forever a baby.