Baby Hippo Adorably Refuses to Get out of the Pool at Wildlife Park
Just like toddlers, baby animals can be very stubborn. Latke, a pygmy hippo that lives at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, Kansas, is one of those kids. He loves swimming in his pool, and not even a bribe of treats will get him out when it's time for him to go home!
Tanganyika posted a video on Wednesday, July 10th and called Latke their 'pool potato' and that's very accurate! It's clear from the video that the calf (the 'official' name for a baby hippo') loves his pool time like most of us do. I guess this proves that he will get out when he's good and ready, and not a second sooner!
Latke is so adorable! I bet the zookeeper couldn't even be mad at him since he's so cute! Fans of Tanganyika had a lot to say about sassy Latke's refusal to get out of the water. @pattivaldes laughed and shared, "He said NO MA'AM!! LOL!" But @Daniel had my favorite comment, "Is going swimming WITH him an option?" Inquiring minds want to know!
Related: Wildlife Park Lists Cute Steps to Get Baby Hippo to Come Inside at the End of the Day
Latke: A Pygmy Hippo
Latke is adorable and I love watching him grow. He was born on December 14, 2023, to parents Posie and Pluto and is the fourth baby hippo of the couple born at the wildlife park. He's just a baby!
Latke might look a bit different than the animal you think of when you see a hippo in your head; pygmy hippos are much smaller than the more commonly known Nile Hippos. While they're much smaller, by the time he is full grown Latke will weigh between 400 and 600 pounds. That might sound like a lot, but adult Nile hippos weigh between 3,000 up to almost 10,000 pounds! Even just weighing a hundred pounds or so right now makes it difficult for zookeepers to get him to do anything he doesn't want to do!
Size wise, the two hippos look different, but they do share some similarities. Both Pygmy and Nile Hippos are nocturnal. They also have similar diets; they are herbivores and eat things like grasses, fruits, and plants. Both are devoted parents to their offspring, meaning they invest time and effort into raising their young, and are very protective of their calves.
The hippos also live in different geographical areas. Pygmy Hippos come from the West African rainforests while Nile Hippos are found on, you guessed it, the Nile River, stretching from Tanzania to Mozambique. While Nile Hippos become aggressive when their territory is invaded, Pygmy Hippos tend to be more solitary and less confrontational; they are not territorial like the Nile hippos.
Latke's a favorite of mine because I've followed his growth since he was born, and he always makes me smile. I can't wait to see the next video that Tanganyika shares of the little (big!) guy!
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