Zoe the orangutan needed help breastfeeding. Her first baby, Taavi, had to be hand-raised after she failed to nurse him and hold him properly. It’s likely Zoe never learned how to be a mom since she was orphaned at nine months old when her own mother died...

Cheetah Surgery

by wentworth | February 22, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

On February 2, the Metro Richmond Zoo performed a leg surgery on Bo, a 9-year-old male cheetah. Previously, zookeepers noticed Bo had an injury to his left, rear leg. The zoo’s vet team took x-rays and discovered he had a calcaneal fracture in the heel bone from an...

World’s Oldest African Penguin Turns 43

by wentworth | January 31, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

The world’s oldest African penguin is one year older! Help us wish ET, one of our female African penguins, a very happy birthday. She turned 43 years old on January 28. According to our best available data, ET is the oldest currently living African penguin in the...

Baby Hippo Name Announcement

by wentworth | January 26, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Thank you to the thousands of people who participated in our baby hippo naming poll. We had 18,963 total votes. We are thrilled to officially announce the winning name for our pygmy hippo calf... Say hello to Petunia!!! Petunia is confident, brave, and spunky. She...

Baby Hippo Naming Poll

by wentworth | January 18, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

It's time to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! We want to thank everyone for submitting name ideas for our little hippo. It was difficult selecting only a few favorite names from the thousands of recommendations. The final names were suggested by followers and/or our team. Final...

Baby Pygmy Hippo Splashes onto Exhibit

by wentworth | December 30, 2022 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Virginia’s most famous hippopotamus went swimming for the first time this week. On Tuesday, December 27, Iris and her 3-week-old calf were moved into the zoo’s indoor pool area for some hippo swimming lessons. Iris showed her baby around the new area and then...