This week, just in time for the San Diego Zoo’s official reopening to the public on June 20, a 2-month-old male pygmy hippopotamus and his mother, Mabel, graduated from their maternity habitat to the larger main pygmy hippo habitat in the Lost Forest area of the Zoo.

In breeding programs aimed at conserving animals from small or isolated populations, scientists must balance the competing needs of adding genetic diversity and avoiding the introduction of harmful genes. 

Two greater one-horned rhino calves, along with their mothers, bravely entered the expansive Asian Savanna habitat for the first time, (May 20, 2020) at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Ever wanted to know how long a hippo can stay underwater? How they “dance” so gracefully through the water? Or how long they sleep?