A baby pygmy hippo named Jellybean is capturing hearts online after arriving at Arizona’s Wildlife World Zoo. The zoo revealed the baby hippo’s name following a public vote, and the internet fell in love.
Earlier this week, the Arizona Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park announced that the newborn pygmy hippo, born on January 22, had been named Jellybean.
The name won with 81.3% of the vote, surpassing other candy-themed options like Cadbury, Twixi, and Taffy. Zoo President Kristy Hayden introduced Jellybean on TODAY on February 23, holding the calf on her lap as the hosts cheered.
Rare and endangered species
Pygmy hippos are considered endangered, with only about 2,500 left in the wild, making Jellybean’s birth a significant milestone.
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According to TODAY, Jellybean weighed 11 pounds at birth and had grown to 33 pounds at her last check-in. Pygmy hippos can eventually reach between 350 and 600 pounds.
Jellybean joins her mother, Lollipop, at the Arizona Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, about 20 miles outside of Phoenix. Zoo officials hope Jellybean’s popularity will raise awareness about the species’ conservation needs.
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An internet star
Social media lit up with comparisons between Jellybean and Moo Deng, a viral pygmy hippo born at Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo in 2024.
Commenters under the Reuters post joked about Jellybean being the “American Moo Deng” or the next big social media star.
Users also joked about Jellybean becoming the next trend, after viral videos of the BBC penguin documentary and Punch, the monkey. The macaque became an internet star after videos showed him clinging to a stuffed orangutan for comfort at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan.
“After Penguin and Punch, we’ve hippo!” read one comment, while another read: “If Jellybean isn’t going to carry around a stuffed hippo, we won’t be interested.”
