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Tiny South American Deer Debuts at New York City Zoo

This photo, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo, shows a southern pudu fawn, one of the smallest deer species in the world, born at the zoo at about 2 pounds, June 21, 2024, in the Queens borough of New York. (Terria Clay/Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo via AP)
This photo, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo, shows a southern pudu fawn, one of the smallest deer species in the world, born at the zoo at about 2 pounds, June 21, 2024, in the Queens borough of New York. (Terria Clay/Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo via AP)
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Tiny South American Deer Debuts at New York City Zoo

This photo, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo, shows a southern pudu fawn, one of the smallest deer species in the world, born at the zoo at about 2 pounds, June 21, 2024, in the Queens borough of New York. (Terria Clay/Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo via AP)
This photo, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo, shows a southern pudu fawn, one of the smallest deer species in the world, born at the zoo at about 2 pounds, June 21, 2024, in the Queens borough of New York. (Terria Clay/Wildlife Conservation Society's Queens Zoo via AP)

A tiny South American deer that will weigh only as much as a watermelon when fully grown is making its debut at the Queens Zoo in New York City.

The southern pudu fawn weighed just 2 pounds (just under 1 kilo) when it was born June 21, the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs New York City's zoos, said in a news release Thursday. It is expected to weigh 15 to 20 pounds (7 to 9 kilograms) in adulthood.

The southern pudu, one of the world's smallest deer species, is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is native to Chile and Argentina, where its population is decreasing because of factors including development and invasive species.

The Queens Zoo breeds southern pudus in collaboration with other zoos in an effort to maintain genetically diverse populations, the conservation society said. Eight pudu fawns have been born there since 2005.

The newborn fawn will share a Queens Zoo habitat with its parents. There are two more pudus at the conservation society's Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn.

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Berlin’s Newest Pygmy Hippo Makes Her Debut, with Name Inspired by Football Star

Female pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) Toni strolls through its enclosure at the Zoological Garden in Berlin on August 15, 2024, during its first presentation to the public. (AFP)
Female pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) Toni strolls through its enclosure at the Zoological Garden in Berlin on August 15, 2024, during its first presentation to the public. (AFP)
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Berlin’s Newest Pygmy Hippo Makes Her Debut, with Name Inspired by Football Star

Female pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) Toni strolls through its enclosure at the Zoological Garden in Berlin on August 15, 2024, during its first presentation to the public. (AFP)
Female pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) Toni strolls through its enclosure at the Zoological Garden in Berlin on August 15, 2024, during its first presentation to the public. (AFP)

The Berlin Zoo's newest baby pygmy hippo made her public debut on Thursday, a day after her name — Toni, inspired by German soccer star Antonio Rüdiger — was chosen from more than 20,000 suggestions.

Toni was born on June 3. She's still not much bigger than a small dog but delighted zoo visitors as she explored her enclosure alongside her mother, Debbie.

The zoo sought suggestions for the baby's name and sifted through the thousands of names over recent weeks. Zoo director Andreas Knieriem said he initially leaned toward traditional Berlin names like Boulettchen — which translates to “little meatball” — but the little hippo's popularity on social media and the many name proposals suggested that she would become “a real world star.”

“We wanted to take account of this development with a short, concise name that also works well outside Berlin,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

Rüdiger, a Berlin native who plays for Real Madrid and Germany, agreed to become the animal's honorary patron — or, as the zoo put it, “coach” — sealing the deal for “Toni.”

Debbie reared previous offspring in 2004, 2007 and 2008. The zoo has succeeded in breeding the species since 1921, which it says was the first time it occurred in Europe.

Pygmy hippopotamuses are an endangered species and fewer than 2,500 adults remain in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the zoo said. They are already extinct in Nigeria and face a major loss of habitat as West African forests are cleared for mining and agricultural use, it added.