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Forget Moo Deng: Tampa has its own baby pygmy hippo

The female calf was born at ZooTampa earlier this year.

An up-close shot of Ruka, the baby pgymy hippo at ZooTampa. Her head emerges from murky water and she appears to be feeding on her mother who is mostly off-screen. Her brownish skin is wet, and looks slimy with light reflected off it.

Welcome to the world, Ruka.

Photo via ZooTampa at Lowry Park

Have you heard of Moo Deng? The world’s most famous pygmy hippo is going viral on social media, with millions across the globe enamored by her antics at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo. And yes, she’s very cute.

But you don’t need to board a flight to Bangkok to see the slimy cuteness of a pygmy hippo calf — we’ve got one of our own in the Tampa Bay area. Ruka was born at ZooTampa at Lowry Park earlier this year, and the zoo says she loves playing with her ball.

Back in April, the zoo posted the first video of Ruka when she weighed ~10 lbs, soon after she was born as part of the Species Survival Plan to ensure the protection of threatened and endangered species.

Get tickets to see her for yourself.

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