Meet Haggis, the Latest Baby Pygmy Hippo to Win Over the Internet

Move over, Pesto and Moo Deng—a new swoon-worthy baby animal just hit the internet.

Last week, Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo welcomed a baby pygmy hippopotamus named Haggis. The tiny calf was born October 30 to parents Gloria and Otto.

Haggis is happy and healthy, but she will remain out of public view for the foreseeable future while staffers keep a close eye on her. But although the pygmy hippo house is closed, fans can continue to ogle baby Haggis through photos and videos shared online.

Haggis was born on the heels of Moo Deng, a pygmy hippopotamus calf at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand who went viral in September. Born in July, Moo Deng became so popular in real life that visitors were reportedly limited to just five minutes with her on Saturdays and Sundays earlier this fall.

Both pygmy hippos are named after food. Haggis, the national dish of Scotland, is a savory pudding made from animal organs cooked inside a sheep’s stomach. Moo Deng, meanwhile, translates roughly to “bouncy pork.” (Coincidentally, the massive baby king penguin who went viral is also named after food—in an homage to the Italian condiment made from basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil, the enormous bird is named Pesto.)

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While announcing Haggis’ birth, the Edinburgh Zoo playfully attempted to spark a rivalry between the two diminutive hippos. On social media, the zoo wrote “Moo Deng? Who deng? Introducing… Haggis.” And on the zoo’s website, the birth announcement was titled, “Moo Deng Who?”

Later, the Edinburgh Zoo issued a lighthearted “notes app apology” on X: “We were wrong to pit Haggis and Moo Deng against each other. There is space in this world for two beautiful pygmy hippo divas and we should celebrate them all.”

In addition to being cute, Haggis and Moo Deng are also rare. Pygmy hippos are endangered, with an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 individuals remaining in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They live in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa, but face numerous threats, including poaching and habitat loss.

Zoos around the world are collaborating on breeding programs to help boost the species’ numbers. Last week, the Houston Zoo announced that it had welcomed a 4.5-year-old, 477-pound male pygmy hippo from San Francisco. Named Akobi, the youngster was transferred based on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Baby Haggis’ older sister, Amara, was sent to the London Zoo last year through a similar breeding program in Europe. She was born at the Edinburgh Zoo in 2021 but was later matched up with a hippo “hubby” named Thug in London.

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Haggis may one day help support the captive breeding programs, too. But, in the meantime, she’ll be bringing even more attention to her beleaguered species.

“It is great to have our own little ambassador right here in Edinburgh to connect with our visitors and help raise awareness of the challenges the species face in the wild,” says Jonny Appleyard, hoofstock team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, in a statement.

The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a rarer and more diminutive relative of the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius). Though they may appear similar, the two species have some distinct differences. The most obvious is their size: As their name suggests, pygmies are much smaller, weighing in at between 350 to 600 pounds and standing 30 to 39 inches tall. The common hippopotamus, meanwhile, weighs at least 2,800 pounds—with the largest males reaching almost 10,000 pounds—and stands 5 to 5.5 feet tall.

Pygmies also tend to be more solitary and reclusive, while common hippos are social creatures that live in groups. Both species are semi-aquatic, but pygmy hippos are better adapted for spending time on land.

Sarah Kuta | READ MORE

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.