Young toddlers love testing limits, challenging what their parents tell them, or choosing to listen to one parent over the other. After watching Tanganyika Wildlife Park’s video of their baby pygmy hippo, Mars, it’s clear that animal toddlers can be just as stubborn!
Watch as Mars happily floats around in the one place he shouldn’t be swimming: the drinking water. Caregivers try to gently cajole him out, but it’s no use. One look from mom, the universal “mom stare”, and he’s out in a flash!
You could almost hear Mars saying, “Aw man!” and he made his way out of the tub. And we can almost hear Mars’ caregivers clapping their hands with excitement when they wrote in the video’s caption, “The Mom Stare is Back!”
Related: Baby Pygmy Hippo Refuses to Get Out of the Pool Just Like a Toddler
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Funny Reactions to Mars Responding to the Mom Stare
Most commenters were Team Mars, pointing out why it makes sense that he wouldn’t listen to his human moms. One commenter said what Mars was thinking, “‘You ain’t my momma’ – Mars probably.” @Anna wasn’t wrong when she pointed out, “In all fairness, you’re not as scary as his mom.” Another commenter added, “She only gonna say it ONCE Mars LOL! IYKYK ‘Get out the water boy!'” A viewer over on Instagram agreed, “That baked potato got some hops when mama speaks! LOL!”
We laughed when @Amanda shared, “It’s not his fault that his drinking water is pool-shaped!” She makes a good point! And we all know how much Mars loves to swim!
@Cherokee Bill was thinking the same thing, “I can’t see any ‘drinking water’ but rather a feller who resembles Mars enjoying his new kiddie pool.” @Mykah Jade added, “Mars potato Jones has outgrown the kiddie pool…almost.”
We loved @Miss Joyce’s comment, “That little bean-butt hop at the end is too cute!” You could almost imagine him with his head down, dragging his feet since his mom made him go home!
Well, there’s one thing for certain: for those of us who are huge Mars fans, we can never get enough of his content!
This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Jan 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.