“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir shared a heartwarming moment at Tanganyika Wildlife Park, just outside Wichita, Kansas, that captured the universal language of maternal authority when an endangered pygmy hippo mom gave her reluctant baby “the look” – a moment that has since gone viral with over 45 million views worldwide.
The star of the show was Mars, a 6-week-old pygmy hippo, one of only 3,000 remaining in the wild. The viral video showed the young hippo refusing to leave his swimming pool at dinnertime, a scene many parents found remarkably relatable.
Despite the care team’s best efforts to coax Mars out of the water, the playful baby hippo remained stubborn, lying down and even running away from his handlers.
That’s when his mother, Posie, stepped in. With one powerful maternal glance — the famous “mom stare” — Mars immediately stopped playing and followed her inside for dinner.
“It’s incredible how universal all different species seem to have that mom stare down,” Matt Fouts, Director of Tanganyika Wildlife Park, told ABC News. “It’s hilarious to see Posey do that with Mars every day when he just does not want to go inside. He loves being outside.”
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Mars, who weighed just 13 pounds at birth, has already grown to nearly 40 pounds. He represents a significant achievement for wildlife conservation, being one of only three pygmy hippos born in the United States last year.
“We’re incredibly excited to have Mars,” Fouts explained. “As an endangered species, it’s always important anytime you can have a birth. It’s definitely a testament to all the hard work that our care team does here.”
The wildlife park has extended an invitation to visitors to come see Mars and Posie in person.
“He’s obviously adorable, as everyone can see in the videos, but I can’t tell you how many times people say he’s even cuter in person,” Fouts said.
Visitors can see Mars and Posie daily from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the wildlife park in Goddard, Kansas, where the young hippo continues to develop his personality and, according to his care team, perfect the art of avoiding bedtime – until mom steps in.
Sierra, the Stock Supervisor at the wildlife park, has observed Mars’s growing personality firsthand.
“His personality shows more and more each day,” Sierra told ABC News. “And even though every day we have trouble getting him inside, Posey’s got that mom stare down and knows exactly what that means – time to get out of pool and go in for the day.”
