A baby hippo named Bumpy is melting hearts online after Sheldrick Wildlife Trust shared a video of him eagerly downing a bottle.
The sweet clip is even more emotional because of Bumpy's story.
He was rescued in Kenya after being found orphaned, huddled beside his dead mother.
The caption jokes, "Breakfast for Bumpy! He enjoys the majority of his meals à la plage," since hippos are "most at home in the water."
The video shows Bumpy partially submerged in the water of his temporary home while a Sheldrick Wildlife Trust worker bottle-feeds him.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust shared a fascinating detail about hippo infancy.
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"Within hours of birth, babies instinctively dive beneath their mums, closing their ears and nostrils to seal out water," the caption explained. "They nurse a few sips' worth of milk, surface to breathe, and repeat the process over again until their bellies are full."
For Bumpy, though, there is no need for "all the diving-and-surfacing business," so he made "quick work of his bottle."
One viewer joked: "I know a swim-up bar when I see one!"
"This has to be the cutest thing I'll see all day- milk time in the pool," another added.
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Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said Bumpy's mother likely died in a territorial fight while defending him. He then reportedly remained by her body for at least a day until the Kenya Wildlife Service rescued him and took him into care.
The plan is to eventually reintegrate him into the wild.
Thriving wildlife populations support tourism, local jobs, and more resilient natural systems. Protecting species such as hippos can also help preserve river and wetland habitats that are important to broader ecological health.
Bumpy's rescue involved coordinated conservation work, from the field response to round-the-clock care.
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