COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Cheyenne Mountain Zoo keepers were greeted by a brand-new baby last Friday.
A Red River hog was born to mom, Zena, on Aug. 12.
The baby’s sex has not been identified and likely won’t be for another few weeks. Zookeepers said the little hoglet is watermelon-striped and about the size of its mom’s snout.
Red River hoglets often have a watermelon pattern when they’re born, with little brown and white spots all over. Those stripes and spots usually fade after about six months, but act as important camouflage in the meantime, according to keepers at the Colorado Springs zoo.
The zoo said mom Zena appears to be embracing her baby and nursing regularly, while the baby often gets the "zoomies."
Red River hoglets are sometimes described as looking like wind-up toys, because they get bursts of energy that send them running circles around their mothers.
> Watch below: Baby hog zooms around:
"We are over the moon with excitement for this little one,” said Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Lauren Phillippi. "Red River hog babies are some of the cutest in the whole animal kingdom with their little stripes, tiny statures and energetic behaviors."
This is Zena’s second hoglet, after Pinto, who was born at the zoo in April 2021.
Zoo officials said Zena came to Colorado Springs on a breeding recommendation with Huey, a 15-year-old male Red River hog.
Red River hog fathers, unlike many species, are active in raising their young. Huey has been a great father to Pinto, and four others, said the zoo.
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