The excitement and global interest in Virginia’s newborn pygmy hippo comes after a female two-month-old pygmy hippo named Moo Deng from Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo launched an internet craze back in September.

The public is able to see the new endangered pygmy hippo calf at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia. The mother and calf returned to the pool Dec. 30. It was the calf's first time submerged in water since being born in the pool three weeks earlier.

Move over, Moo Deng. A Virginia zoo got a hippopotamus for Christmas because only a hippopotamus would do. A female pygmy hippopotamus calf was born at the Metro Richmond Zoo in early December, marking the third calf of the endangered species to be born at the zoo in the last five years,

Iris and “New Deng” (trademark pending) have been relocated to a private hay-filled enclosure for the time being, which will allow them to properly bond, zoo officials said. Eventually, the calf will move into the zoo’s publicly viewable indoor pool exhibit, where it will probably endear itself to adoring fans eager for more baby hippo content.

The mother Iris gave birth to the female calf on Dec. 9 following a seven-month gestation, zoo officials said. The newborn, who has yet to be named, is the third calf for Iris and the father, Corwin. She was also the second calf to be born in December, according to the zoo.