Toronto Zoo names endangered baby pygmy hippopotamus

The newest addition to the Toronto Zoo family finally has a name.

Penelope, a baby pygmy hippopotamus, was born on Aug. 21 to the delight of zookeepers and her mother, 12-year-old Kindia.

Since her birth, the zoo has flooded their social media accounts with videos and photos of the calf getting used to her new surroundings.

The zoo called on the public to help name the hippo, as it has in the past with other newborns.

Name options included “Alika,” which means most beautiful in Swahili, “Zola,” which means quiet and tranquil in Zulu, and “Zawadi,” which means gift in Swahili.

But Torontonians settled on “Penelope,” which translates to “weaver” in Greek.

The pygmy hippo is endangered, with only about 2,000 to 3,000 left in the wild.

Kindia arrived at the Toronto Zoo two years ago as part of a global breeding program.

Penelope was born healthy and after a 30-day period of monitoring, she and Kindia were moved to a public enclosure on Sept. 19.