{"id":187630,"date":"2025-08-30T17:02:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T17:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/187630\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T17:02:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T17:02:10","slug":"baby-pygmy-hippos-hilarious-underwater-swim-along-wins-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/187630\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby Pygmy Hippo\u2019s Hilarious Underwater Swim-Along Wins the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inquiring minds want to know what it\u2019s like being a baby pygmy hippo<\/a>\u2014and the staff at Tanganyika Wildlife Park didn\u2019t disappoint! They\u2019ve spent the last several months sharing daily updates on Mars, and each video is cuter than the last.<\/p>\n

Recently, a dedicated staff member donned a scuba-style mask and took matters into her own hands to give fans exactly what they wanted: real-time underwater video footage of the sweet baby hippo in his favorite hangout spot.<\/p>\n

At first, Mars looks a little unsure about the unexpected swimming<\/a> partner. But after a few moments, the water aerobics begin. After a quick sniff of her cheetah-print shoes, Mars swims away looking like a floating baked potato.<\/p>\n

The little hippo clearly enjoys the extra attention and does some underwater twists and turns before circling back around to play a little game<\/a> of cat and mouse with the keeper.<\/p>\n

One viewer, speaking on Mars\u2019 behalf, joked, \u201cThese waters aren\u2019t big enough for the both of us!” Another quipped, \u201cMa’am, your water potato is a little spicy! \ud83e\udd23 Also, do you all just keep an extra closet at work or what?\u201d Honestly, that\u2019s a fair question\u2014since the employee is wearing her everyday work attire, and not exactly swim-ready gear.<\/p>\n

Related: Baby Pygmy Hippo Learns to Dive Off Pool Ledge and We Can’t Handle the Cuteness<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A fan even asked, \u201cWhat exactly is your job title, so I know what I\u2019m applying for? Because YES!\u201d \ud83d\ude2d\ud83e\udd70 And another jokingly added, \u201cOnce again, no one told me this was a job option on career day!\u201d \ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n

How Long Can a Pygmy Hippo Stay Underwater?<\/p>\n

According to the Tanganyika Wildlife Park, pygmy hippos can typically stay underwater<\/a> for three to six minutes on a single breath. While they are underwater, their eyes, ears, and nostrils close to prevent water from entering. Pygmy hippos usually spend 12-15 hours a day in the water.<\/p>\n

When a fan asked if guests would ever be allowed to swim with Mars, sadly the park replied, \u201cWe are not, but eventually he will have a meet and greet where you can paint with him, feel his slimy skin, get a photo with him, and learn all about Pygmy hippos.\u201d \ud83d\udc9a<\/p>\n

Honestly, that sounds amazing too. Kansas might just become a popular vacation hotspot for pygmy hippo lovers everywhere!<\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by PetHelpful<\/a> on Aug 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News<\/a> section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inquiring minds want to know what it\u2019s like being a baby pygmy hippo\u2014and the staff at Tanganyika Wildlife…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":187631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[85040,159,41071,67,132,68,105094,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-187630","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-pygmy-hippo","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-tanganyika-wildlife-park","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-water-aerobics","15":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115118797197304204","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}