Adorable pygmy hippopotamus born at Sweden's Parken Zoo

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Parken Zoo has just released photos of its newest addition: A roly-poly pygmy hippopotamus named Olivia — or “Michelin Man,” as zoo staff call her.

"Olivia is a well-behaved little thing and has fattened up nicely since she was born," Jennie Westander of Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna said in a statement.

Olivia, whose birth was the result of an international breeding program, weighed just 6kg when she was born a month ago and initially had some trouble putting on the pounds.

The chubby pygmy hippo is now at a healthy weight.

When she’s 2 years old, she’ll leave her mother, Krakunia, and be sent to another zoo in Europe.

In the meantime, she’s getting along well with her hippo family — including dad, Anton, whom she met just recently, and brother, Oliver — in their enclosure.

The pygmy hippopotamus is an endangered species native to West Africa. There are thought to be fewer than 3,000 of them remaining in the wild, making breeding programs like the one at Parken Zoo essential.

We have a real soft spot for zoo babies here. Below are quick updates for two of our recent favourites:

This spring, we shared the story of a female baby gorilla, born via emergency Caesarean section.

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Now 5 months old, little Joanne can sit and eat by herself, and is learning to crawl.

And the tiny panda triplets born at Guangzhou’s Chimelong Safari Park in China this July are getting stronger every day.

“It was a miracle for us and [the births] exceeded our expectations,” Dong Guixin, the safari park’s general manager, said.

Watch them get their one-month checkups below.

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