TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung’s Shoushan Zoo celebrated the birthdays of a mother-and-son pair of pygmy hippos, Chunyuan (春圓) and Yuanbao (圓寶).

Both were born in June, with the zoo making a cake made of hibiscus flowers, leaves, carrots, and fruit. The zoo hoped the cake would help liven up the day for the pygmy hippos.

Kaohsiung City Tourism Bureau Director-General Kao Min-lin (高閔琳) said the 13-year-old female pygmy hippo Chun Yuan and a 10-year-old male father, Chiuji (秋吉) arrived at Shoushan Zoo and were paired and gave birth to Yuanbao on June 21, 2019, per a press release.

Chunyuan’s birthday also happened to fall in this month (June 7), and mother and child were treated to a special celebration witnessed by the general public. Kaohsiung City Tourism Bureau said pygmy hippos are an endangered species, with just 2,500 thought to be alive in the wild.

Wild pygmy hippos will forage on roots, leaves, ferns, and other food on river banks and forests. The zoo hopes the birthday celebration will draw more attention to the plight of this threatened species, putting more focus on animal conservation.

A zookeeper looking after the pygmy hippos recalled that when the mother Chunyuan was caring for her son, Yuanbao, she had excellent maternal instincts and was very careful not to trample on her newborn.

And at the age of just 4 months, Yuanbao took a break from feeding exclusively on breast milk and began chewing on solid food. Yuanbao is now 4 years old and is able to live independently.

Shoushan Zoo added that while the pygmy hippo looks like a much larger hippo, it is less dependent on water and can live in relatively dry places. In addition, the pygmy hippo has a rounder head shape, eyes further apart, and more spaces between the toes.