After getting a pygmy hippopotamus for Christmas, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo and The Hyppo, a gourmet ice pop company with several stores in the Tampa Bay area, partnered on a contest to name the zoo’s newest baby girl. Within a few days, over 1,000 entries were submitted through social media and at The Hyppo in Hyde Park Village.

The zoo revealed the baby girl’s new name – Holly Berry – at a special event on Monday morning. The zoo’s Africa team, who provide daily care to the pygmy hippos, revealed the name one letter at a time. The name was submitted by Jordan Thurmond at the The Hyppo; his family was also on hand for the unveiling. The Hyppo provided free frozen fruit pops as part of the event.

The endangered pygmy hippo was born at the Zoo in the early morning on Dec. 1, 2017. Holly Berry currently weighs in at 35 lbs. With less than 40 pygmy hippos in the Species Survival Program, this newborn is a rare gift for the Tampa community. Pygmy hippos, as their name implies, are smaller than their Nile hippo relative.

“We are thrilled to finally reveal the name of our baby pygmy hippo. It’s been special to have our community so involved in this journey with us. We are excited to share Holly Berry’s milestones and watch her grow,” said Chris Massaro, General Curator at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. “It was fun to partner up with a beloved local company, such as The Hyppo. The partnership was a perfect fit and we look forward to working together in the future.”

Guests can see Holly Berry in her habitat in Ituri Forest located in Safari Africa.

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Thanks to photographer Matt Hopkins for a number of images in this article.

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