THEY say good things come in small packages.

And that’s certainly true of the new edition at Marwell Zoo who has arrived just in time for Christmas.

Wendy the pygmy hippo has become a mum for the fourth time.

Now the zoo is asking for help deciding on her name. They are choosing between calling her Gloria, Rosie or Harriet.

The tiny calf, which weighs just six kilos and is 15cm tall, was born on December 13, and although she is just one week old she is already exploring her new home under the watchful eyes of her proud mum.

Her dad, Nato, visited 18-year-old Wendy at the zoo this summer, and the baby is an important addition to the European Endangered Breeding Programme.

Experts predict the pygmy hippo population to decline by 20 per cent over the course of the next 20 years.

Shelly Parkes, collection manager at Marwell Zoo said: “Wendy is an experienced Mum, this being her fourth birth, so she has been fantastic at looking after the calf and is very protective of her. The baby was on her feet from the day she was born and seems a strong calf. She is suckling well and will continue to do so for another six to eight months. We look forward to seeing her grow and develop every day.”

The baby hippo joins lots of other new arrivals at the zoo including a baby giant anteater, an Arabian oryx calf, a Hartmann’s zebra foal and a Somali wild ass foal. Marwell also welcomed their new tiger Amur to the zoo this week.

Anyone who votes for their favourite name online will automatically be entered into a prize draw and the winner will get to adopt a pygmy hippo.

Voting closes at midnight on January 1.

For more information or to vote, visit: marwell.org.uk/hippo.