MOSLEY, Va. — The votes have been tabulated, and the baby pygmy hippo at the Metro Richmond Zoo has been named.

“Poppy” was the winner in voting from more than 116,000 ballots, the zoo said in a news release on Monday. The female hippo garnered 52.8% of the votes, which came from hippo lovers across 165 countries.

“Poppy is the perfect name for this playful, perky, and ever-increasing popular hippo,” the zoo said in its statement. “Her name is a flower just like her mother Iris.”

The runner-up name in the voting was Hammie Mae, zoo officials said.

Poppy not only won the overall vote, but also balloting in the U.S., Virginia and in-person voting.

In the U.S., Poppy earned 55.9% of the vote, winning all 50 states but losing in the District of Columbia. She took 55% of the ballots among Virginia voters and 53.7% of in-person balloting, zoo officials said.

The most votes were cast in the U.S., Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

Poppy was born on Dec. 9 to Iris and Corwin, WRIC reported.

The baby hippo is on habitat with her mother at the zoo and can be seen by visitors in the indoor pool area, zoo officials said. When the weather is warmer and Poppy is a little bigger, they will move to the outdoor habitat, which has a large pool with underwater viewing windows.

© 2025 Cox Media Group