Move over, Moo Deng, there’s a new adorable baby hippo in town! The Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia went viral after welcoming its latest resident—a newborn pygmy hippopotamus, who was named Poppy after 100,000 people from around the world placed votes in the poll choosing her name.
Poppy was born in early December and it didn’t take her long to become the biggest star of Metro Richmond Zoo in Richmond, Virginia. According to the zoo director Jim Andelin, more than 116,000 votes from 165 countries were cast in the pool to choose her name, and Poppy managed to narrowly beat Hammie Mae.
“It was close. We even thought that maybe we should combine the names and call her Poppy Mae. But we decided that we’ll let the votes stand as they may, and we were glad that the winner won not only the total vote, but also won the in-person vote here at the zoo, as well as Virginia and the U.S,” Andelin told Today.
Poppy’s mom Iris and sisters Violet and Petunia have also been named after flowers. They were moved to other zoos after growing up in an attempt to continue contributing to the conservation of their species. Pygmy hippopotamus are native to West Africa, and less than 2,500 mature individuals remain in the wild, which makes Poppy’s birth a true miracle.
