First photos of adorable baby pygmy hippopotamus at Sydney's Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo's baby pygmy hippopotamus – the first born in seven years – made its first public appearance in Sydney on Friday (17 March 2017).

The female calf was born to first-time parents Fergus and Kambiri on 21 February and has begun to explore its new surroundings, making a splash in the zoo's pool, according to Taronga Zoo senior keeper Renae Moss. "At the moment, the calf is just learning its new surroundings. It loves swimming in our pool. We've lowered the depth of it at the moment, just so it gets to learn how to get in and out of it. But she's following her mother, learning what to eat, learning where to go." She told Reuters. According to Moss, pygmy hippopotamus are classified as endangered, with fewer than 3000 left in the wild and that "every hippo born in a zoo helps to ensure that this population continues on into the future".

Taronga Zoo will be holding a competition to help choose a name for their new arrival. In this gallery, IBTimesUK presents some of the first photos taken of the baby pygmy hippopotamus: