Berlin’s newest pygmy hippo makes her debut, with a name inspired by a soccer star

BERLIN (AP) — The Berlin Zoo’s newest baby pygmy hippo has made her public debut. She explored her enclosure alongside her mother, Debbie, on Thursday. The zoo announced her name, Toni, the day before. The name was inspired by German soccer star Antonio Rüdiger and chosen from more than 20,000 suggestions. Toni was born on June 3. She’s still not much bigger than a small dog but has already delighted zoo visitors. Pygmy hippopotamuses are an endangered species and fewer than 2,500 adults remain in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. They are already extinct in Nigeria and face a major loss of habitat.