San Diego: A baby endangered pygmy hippopotamus is getting used to his surroundings at the San Diego Zoo.
The male calf was born last month to Mabel, a 4-year-old resident of the zoo's indoor Lost Forest habitat.
He does not yet have an official name, but zookeepers have been referring to him as 'Kobe'.
Officials say it is the first successful pygmy hippo birth at the zoo in more than 30 years.
Animal care specialist Leanne Klinski says the calf is holding his breath as he goes underwater and is exploring his surroundings.
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"We've seen a tremendous amount of accomplishments as this calf has been growing," she said. "We saw him from nursing on his own to walking around and discovering objects and mouthing food, mimicking mom, trying to eat some of her biscuits or her greens."
In about a month, he's expected to have access to the main habitat.
Pygmy hippos are on the endangered species list. They are a different species from the river hippopotamus, which can be more than twice as large.
In their native habitat of West Africa, pygmy hippos spend more of their time on land rather than water and are primarily nocturnal.
(AP)
