Baby Hippo Taking a Swim at Kansas Wildlife Park Is Full of Sweetness

A baby pygmy hippo named Latke was born at the Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, Kansas during Hannukah last year, which was how he got his name. Since then, the park has shared many videos of the now almost 4-month-old growing hippo, and we can't get enough of him.

The park's most recent video, shared on Monday, April 1st, gives us all a glimpse into Latke's day, and on this day, he went for a swim. Watch as Latke strolls along the bottom of his pool - I think he may even have some cute little zoomies going on! And as the park says in the video's caption, "Swim potato, swim!"

How adorable is Latke and how fun is it to get to watch the baby hippo swim! Tanganyika Wildlife Park's commenters also agreed that it was cuteness overload. @Adrienne swooned, "This is the cutest thing I've ever seen!!!" and another commenter added, "He's a darling potato!"

Related: Baby Hippo Born at Kansas Wildlife Park During Hanukkah Given the Most Fitting Name

Believe It or Not, Hippos Don't Swim

Did you know hippos can't actually swim? Due to their size and denseness, they can't float! While they spend a ton of time in the water every day, it might look like they're swimming around, but they aren't. They actually walk and run along the bottom of the riverbed...which is exactly what we saw Latke do in this video. They can control their breathing and are able to float and sink at will.

Their eyes and nostrils are on top of their heads, so they can still breathe and see when they are underwater. NatGeo explains, "When totally submerged, the ears and nostrils shut tight to keep the water out, and hippos can hold their breath for five minutes." So instead of this giving a whole new meaning to "sleeping with the fishes", it really is a better example of a "cat nap"!

Another fun fact from the NatGeo is that hippos can actually sleep while under water, "A subconscious reflex allows them to push themselves to the surface to breathe without waking up so they can sleep without drowning." Kind of how dolphins can sleep with one side of their brain still awake!

According to AfricaFreak.com, Pygmy hippos are unique for the way they feed their babies, "Pygmy hippos can suckle from their mothers when under the water. They are one of the very few mammals capable of this underwater lactation." Marine animals, like whales and dolphins, feed their babies this way, but not many animals that walk on both land and in the water do it.

Sadly, pygmy hippos are considered an endangered species, and their numbers continue to decline. They are threatened by a number of factors including hunting, civil conflicts in their homelands, and deforestation. I hope more wildlife parks, rescues, and zoos welcome them into their sanctuaries so that they can help rebuild these hippos' numbers.

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