Virginia

Endangered pygmy hippopotamus born at a Virginia zoo and you can help name her

Published

10 months ago

December 30, 2024

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Endangered pygmy hippopotamus born at a Virginia zoo and you can help name her

Move over, Moo Deng.

A Virginia zoo got a hippopotamus for Christmas because only a hippopotamus would do.

A female pygmy hippopotamus calf was born at the Metro Richmond Zoo in early December, marking the third calf of the endangered species to be born at the zoo in the last five years, officials said.

The mother hippo Iris gave birth to the yet-to-be-named calf on Dec. 9 and the zoo is currently holding a contest to name the new calf.

A whopping 14,000 people flocked to vote on a potential moniker, and the options have been narrowed down to Poppy, Juniper, Hammie Mae, and Omi.

The baby girl is the river horse’s third calf shared with her current mate, Corwin.

Iris keeps to a schedule. The new hippo is the second she has given birth to in December, according to the zoo. All three of her offspring have been female as well.

“Most people don’t get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years,” zoo officials said in a news release Tuesday — in a nod to the famous holiday tune.

The new baby had a neonatal exam and weighed in at 15 pounds, a mere fraction of the 600 pounds officials say fully grown pygmy hippos can boast.

Hippos are usually a naturally polygamous species, but it’s been slim pickings for the pygmies over the last few decades.

When the hippo was declared endangered in 2015, there were only about 2,500 mature ones left, and even then officials were pulling that from a 1993 population estimate, according to the Zoological Society of London.

“This birth – like all of Iris’ births – plays an important role in helping protect this rare and elusive species. Unlike common hippos, pygmy hippos do not live in groups and are usually solitary or in pairs. For this reason, once Iris’ two previous calves grew up, they were moved to other zoological facilities to live with future mates and continue contributing to the conservation of their species,” the zoo wrote in the news release.

Earlier this year, another baby pygmy hippo took the internet by storm. Moo Deng, a newborn at a zoo in Thailand with a penchant for trying to bite people, captured the hearts of people far and wide and became one of the most prolific memes of the year.

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Virginia

No. 3 Pitt Sweeps Virginia Tech in Dominant Fashion Friday Night – Pitt Panthers #H2P

Published

10 hours ago

November 8, 2025

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No. 3 Pitt Sweeps Virginia Tech in Dominant Fashion Friday Night – Pitt Panthers #H2P

PITTSBURGH – The No. 3 Pitt volleyball team (20-3, 12-1 ACC) earned a dominant sweep against Virginia Tech (10-14, 2-11 ACC) 25-13, 25-12, 25-17 in the Fitzgerald Field House on Friday night. Eight Panthers recorded at least a pair of kills behind a well-balanced offense from Brooke Mosher and Haiti Tautua’a. The win over the Hokies marks Dan Fisher‘s 11th season with 20 or more victories.

The Panthers and Hokies battled it out at the beginning of the first set as Pitt called a timeout at 8-7. Marina Pezelj powered the Panthers to a 7-2 run to force Virginia Tech to call a timeout. The Hokies attempted to claw back but were unable to as they were forced to call a timeout, down 21-13. Mallorie Meyer continued her strong service run to carry Pitt to a 25-13 set one victory.

Masten’s efficient serving and a pair of kills from Olivia Babcock was too much to handle as Virginia Tech was prompted to call an early timeout, down 9-2. The momentum from the Panthers continued to flow, and an ace from Kiana Dinn caused the Hokies to take their final timeout at 18-7. The Panthers eventually took the set 25-12 to carry a 2-0 lead into the break.

Despite a tie at 4-4, the Panthers went on a 9-4 run, and two consecutive aces from Haiti Tautua’a forced Virginia Tech to take a timeout, down 13-8. An efficient Panther offense powered Pitt to end set three 25-17, and win the match, 3-0.

The Panthers wrap up the weekend against Virginia on Sunday at noon on ACC Network in the Fitzgerald Field House.

NOTES

Eight Panthers recorded at least two kills in the sweep

Haiti Tautua’a notched a season-high 20 assists to lead Pitt to a .352 hitting percentage

The Panthers out dug the Hokies 38-28

Bre Kelley and Ryla Jones tallied four blocks each as the Panthers finished the night with 9.5

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Virginia

How Virginia’s next AG could influence energy policy

Published

1 day ago

November 7, 2025

Press Room

How Virginia’s next AG could influence energy policy

Jay Jones’ victory in Virginia’s attorney general race added an exclamation point to the Democratic romp in this week’s elections.

But whether Jones can help Democrats deliver on their campaign pledge to lower electricity costs is more like a question mark.

During the campaign, Jones was dogged by his past messages fantasizing about the death of the Republican state House speaker and his children. That October surprise spurred Republican groups to pour resources into defending incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares — hoping to maintain their hold on a key office as polling showed Democrats poised to sweep the rest of state government.

But Tuesday’s blue wave propelled Virginia’s entire Democratic ticket to victory. Jones’ margin of victory was the slimmest, but he still won by nearly 200,000 votes, according to unofficial returns, or almost 6 percentage points.

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Virginia

No. 3 Pitt Returns Home to Play Virginia Tech and Virginia This Weekend – Pitt Panthers #H2P

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2025

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No. 3 Pitt Returns Home to Play Virginia Tech and Virginia This Weekend – Pitt Panthers #H2P

PITTSBURGH – The No. 3 Pitt volleyball team (19-3, 11-1 ACC) returns to the Fitzgerald Field House to play Virginia Tech (10-13, 2-10 ACC) on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Virginia (10-12, 3-9 ACC) on Sunday at noon. The matches can be streamed on ACCNX and ACC Network, respectively.

The Panthers hold a 16-6 all-time advantage over Virginia Tech and have won 10 straight in the series. Olivia Babcock recorded 18 kills, seven digs and two blocks against the Hokies last year to lead Pitt.

Pitt is 19-3 against Virginia and has won 12 straight matches. Seven Panthers recorded at least one kill last year against the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, and Pitt held Virginia to less than 10 points in two of the three sets. The Panthers haven’t lost to either opponent since 2015.

HISTORIC. AGAIN.

• Olivia Babcock broke her own program record with 45 kills against North Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

• That kill total is the most in NCAA Division I volleyball since Cincinnati’s Jordan Thompson had 50 against UConn on Nov. 3, 2019.

• Babcock has recorded at least 25 kills seven times this season and has three 30+ kills to her name in 2025 and four in her career.

• Her previous record was 41 kills set against rival Louisville on Oct. 19.

DYNAMIC DUO

• Olivia Babcock and Brooke Mosher earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week and ACC Setter of the Week, respectively.

• The duo has combined for eight ACC weekly accolades, with Babcock at five and Mosher at three.

• Babcock continued her dominance last week, averaging 7.88 points per set, 6.88 kills per set, 1.75 digs per set and 1.25 blocks per set in wins over Duke and then-No. 21 North Carolina.

• Mosher paced the Pitt offense by averaging 10.88 assists per set and 2.63 digs per set in two wins this past weekend.

RACKING UP RANKED WINS

• The Panthers earned their eighth ranked win of the season against then-No. 21 North Carolina on Sunday.

• They boast an 8-3 record against top 25 opponents.

• Pitt and Nebraska are tied for second in the nation with eight ranked wins right behind Texas, who has nine.

MEYER MAGIC

• Mallorie Meyer had a career day against North Carolina.

• The sophomore libero recorded a personal-best 21 digs and 10 assists to lead Pitt’s back court defense.

• Meyer and the Panthers held the Tar Heels to a .180 clip.

SWEEPS ON SWEEPS

• The Panthers swept both NC State and Wake Forest.

• Marina Pezelj had a match-high 12 kills on Friday night against the Wolfpack, tying her career high.

• Mallorie Meyer recorded a then career-high 11 digs, her second double-digit dig outing in three matches.

• Olivia Babcock notched a match-high 16 kills on a .560 hitting percentage to round out the weekend against Wake Forest.

MARINA ON A TEAR

• Freshman outside hitter Marina Pezelj has stepped in due to a Dagmar Mourits injury and is thriving.

• She tied her career high with 12 kills, a match best, in three sets against NC State while hitting .381 with eight digs, a personal best five blocks, an ace and an assist.

• Pezelj followed that up with eight kills on a .286 hitting percentage, five digs, a career-high three aces, a block and an assist against Wake Forest.

PLAYED OUR CARDS RIGHT

• Pitt came back from being down two sets to one to defeat rival Louisville in the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

• Olivia Babcock set a new program record with 41 kills while hitting .423, and Brooke Mosher recorded a career-high 60 assists to pace the Panthers to a .313 team hitting percentage.

• Mallorie Meyer notched 10 digs and seven assists, and Blaire Bayless also registered a career-high eight digs.

• Babcock made an appearance on NFL Countdown to help preview the top-10 rivalry match.

SURVIVED IN FIVE

• The Panthers earned a gritty five-set win over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

• Olivia Babcock had a match-high 29 kills, and Marina Pezelj enjoyed a career day with 17 digs and 12 kills.

• Pitt is currently 4-2 in five set matches this year.

HISTORY MADE!

• Olivia Babcock was named the AVCA National Player of the Week after setting a new program record with 41 kills in the five-set victory over then-No. 4 Louisville.

• She became just the second player to earn four weekly national awards in a career, tying Minnesota’s Stephanie Samedy for the all-time mark.

• Babcock rewrote the previous record of 37 set by Ann Marie Lucanie against Auburn on 9/13/91.

• She is the only player in the NCAA to record at least 40 kills in a single match this season and the fourth to reach that milestone since 2019.

STAT STUFFER

• Olivia Babcock is currently second in the nation in points per set (6.07), tied for second in kills per set (5.24) and fourth in total points (504) and total kills (435).

• Bre Kelley is 17th in blocks per set (1.41).

• Brooke Mosher is 36th in total assists (843) and 44th in assists per set (9.92).

ACC AWARDS KEEP ROLLIN’ IN

• Olivia Babcock earned her fourth ACC Offensive Player of the Week award of the season (10/20).

• This marks the 14th ACC weekly honor of her career (8 Offensive Player of the Week and 6 Freshman of the Week)

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Olivia Babcock has recorded a team best eight double-doubles so far this season.

• Six of them have come in the last 13 matches, including a career-high 17 dig performance against No. 11 SMU.

• Her 2.18 digs per set this season is a personal best, improving upon her 1.82 digs per set her sophomore year.

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