BERLIN (AP) — The Berlin Zoo's newest baby pygmy hippo made her public debut on Thursday, a day after her name — Toni, inspired by German soccer star Antonio Rüdiger — was chosen from more than 20,000 suggestions.
Toni was born on June 3. She's still not much bigger than a small dog but delighted zoo visitors as she explored her enclosure alongside her mother, Debbie.
The zoo sought suggestions for the baby's name and sifted through the thousands of names over recent weeks. Zoo director Andreas Knieriem said he initially leaned toward traditional Berlin names like Boulettchen — which translates to “little meatball” — but the little hippo's popularity on social media and the many name proposals suggested that she would become “a real world star.”
“We wanted to take account of this development with a short, concise name that also works well outside Berlin,” he said in a statement Wednesday. Rüdiger, a Berlin native who plays for Real Madrid and Germany, agreed to become the animal's honorary patron — or, as the zoo put it, “coach” — sealing the deal for “Toni.”
Debbie reared previous offspring in 2004, 2007 and 2008. The zoo has succeeded in breeding the species since 1921, which it says was the first time it occurred in Europe.
Pygmy hippopotamuses are an endangered species and fewer than 2,500 adults remain in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the zoo said. They are already extinct in Nigeria and face a major loss of habitat as West African forests are cleared for mining and agricultural use, it added.
Toni, a pygmy hippo born at the Berlin Zoo in June makes her first public appearance with her mother, Debbie on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Paul Zinken/dpa via AP)
Toni, a pygmy hippo born at the Berlin Zoo in June makes her first public appearance with her mother, Debbie on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Paul Zinken/dpa via AP)
Toni, a pygmy hippo born at the Berlin Zoo in June makes her first public appearance with her mother, Debbie on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Paul Zinken (Paul Zinken/dpa via AP)
Kamala Harris pressed a forceful case against Donald Trump on Tuesday in their first and perhaps only debate before the presidential election, repeatedly goading him in an event that showcased their starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy.
Less than two months from Election Day and hours before the first early ballots will begin to be mailed Wednesday in Alabama, the debate offered the clearest look yet at a presidential race that has been repeatedly upended.
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When President Joe Biden gave bumbling remarks about abortion on the debate stage this summer, it was widely viewed as a missed opportunity — a failure, even — on a powerful and motivating issue for Democrats at the ballot box.
The difference was stark, then, on Tuesday night, when Vice President Kamala Harris gave a forceful defense of abortion rights during her presidential debate with Republican Donald Trump.
Harris conveyed the dire medical situations women have found themselves in since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the national right to abortion in 2022. Harris quickly placed blamed directly on Trump, who recalibrated the Supreme Court to the conservative majority that issued the landmark ruling during his term.
Women, Harris told the national audience, have been denied care as a result.
“You want to talk about this is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot?” Harris said.
The moment was a reminder that Harris is uniquely positioned to talk about the hot-button, national topic in a way that Biden, an 81-year-old Catholic who had long opposed abortion, never felt comfortable doing.
▶ Read more about Harris’ debate comments on abortion rights
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, repeating during a televised debate the type of inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric he has promoted throughout his campaigns.
There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio community are doing that, officials say. But during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump specifically mentioned Springfield, Ohio, the town at the center of the claims, saying that immigrants were taking over the city.
“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said.
Harris called Trump “extreme” and laughed after his comment. Debate moderators pointed out that city officials have said the claims are not true.
Trump’s comments echoed claims made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and other Republicans. The claims attracted attention this week when Vance posted on social media that his office has “received many inquiries” about Haitian migrants abducting pets. Vance acknowledged Tuesday it was possible “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
Officials have said there have been no credible or detailed reports about the claims, even as Trump and his allies use them to amplify racist stereotypes about Black and brown immigrants.
▶ Read more about Trump’s comments on Ohio immigrants
Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post, which included a link to a voter registration website.
Swift has a dedicated following among young women, a key demographic in the November election, and her latest tour has generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales. In a half hour, the post received more than 2.3 million likes.
She included a picture of herself holding her cat Benjamin Button, and she signed the message “Childless Cat Lady.” The remark is a reference to three-year-old comments made by JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, about women without children not having an equal stake in the country’s future.
▶ Read more about Swift’s endorsement
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a presidential debate with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
This combination of photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris during an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People watch the presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Gipsy Las Vegas in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
