Mars (pygmy hippo)

Mars (born June 26, 2025) is a male pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). He was the fifth pygmy hippo calf born at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, Kansas, United States.

Mars

Mars at Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Species	Choeropsis liberiensis
Sex	Male
Born	June 26, 2025 Goddard, Kansas, U.S.
Known for	Viral video featuring a maternal “mom stare”; public naming vote; people visiting from all over the United States
Residence	Tanganyika Wildlife Park (Goddard, Kansas)
Parents	Pluto (sire) and Posie (dam)

Early life

Tanganyika Wildlife Park announced that a male pygmy hippopotamus calf was born there on June 26, 2025.^[1][2] He was the fifth calf born to adults Posie (dam) and Pluto (sire).^[3]

Mom and calf sleeping at Tanganyika Wildlife Park

Mars the Pygmy Hippo was born at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in June of 2025

Media coverage and popularity

A clip shared in August 2025 showed Mars being coaxed and pushed out of the pool by a keeper and also Mars lingering in a pool until his mother intervened with a look, which ABC described as a “universal ‘mom stare’.” The segment ran on World News Tonight with David Muir.^[4][5] National Geographic profiled Mars’ rise alongside broader context about pygmy hippo popularity on social media following the Thai calf Moo Deng.^[6]

Mars the Pygmy Hippo was born at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in June of 2025

See also

• Pygmy hippopotamus

External links

• Mars Mission Control – Tanganyika Wildlife Park