Honey the Pygmy Hippo Plush Toy

Honey the Pygmy Hippo — the weighted one, and the one with a real story behind it

A pygmy hippo is low, solid and squeezable, with no long parts to flop or fray. Honey is also one of only two in the range with pellets as well as stuffing, which means she has some actual heft to her and sits up rather than slumping. It's a genuinely rare animal too, which gives this one something the lion and the elephant haven't got: a reason to talk about it. Around 31 x 16cm, made by Make Believe Ideas with London Zoo — a ZSL conservation zoo — and suitable from birth.

🦛 Weighted, and built low

Short legs, no neck, no mane, no tail to speak of — nothing waiting to be pulled off or matted down, so this is the shape that ages best of the eight. At 31cm long and 16cm high she is the longest and lowest of the range, and the pellets in the base give her a satisfying weight in the hand and let her sit upright on a shelf, which the softer-filled animals won't do. Some babies settle better with a toy that has a bit of substance to it.

🌍 The one worth explaining

Pygmy hippos are genuinely scarce in the wild, which is precisely why they turn up in a range made with a conservation zoo. Make Believe Ideas state that every purchase supports ZSL's vital conservation work here in the UK and around the world. If you'd rather a soft toy led somewhere — to a book, to a visit, to a conversation about why some animals are rare — this is the one in the range that does it.

☀️ A fact to keep for later

Real pygmy hippos make their own sunscreen: a reddish secretion that protects their skin. Children find this excellent. Adults find it slightly alarming.

What we like about it

• Weighted with pellets, so she has real heft and sits up on her own
• The sturdiest shape in the range — nothing long to fray or flatten
• A rare animal, so the toy actually leads somewhere
• Long and low at about 31 x 16cm, which is why she stays put where she is sat
• Suitable from birth, with nothing rigid anywhere
• Made with London Zoo, and every purchase supports ZSL's conservation work

Specification

• Suitable from: birth
• Size: approx. 31cm x 16cm
• Filling: 100% recycled stuffing, with plastic pellets for weight
• Care: surface wash only
• Made with: London Zoo — a ZSL conservation zoo. Every purchase supports ZSL's conservation work

❓ Frequently asked questions

Surface wash only — what does that mean in practice?
No machine and no soaking: clean the outside with a damp cloth and a little mild soap, then let it dry fully. It matters a little more on this one, because the pellets mean you really don't want water getting inside. Our honest advice: if Honey becomes the one they can't be without, buy a second. A spare is worth far more than it costs on the day the first one goes missing.

How big is it?
About 31 x 16cm — long and low rather than tall, and heavier in the hand than the others because of the pellets. The giraffe is the tallest of the eight at 32 x 9cm, the penguin chick the roundest at 25 x 23cm, and the elephant, lion, sloth and bush baby are all about 30 x 20cm.

Plastic pellets with recycled filling — isn't that a contradiction?
A fair question, and worth answering straight. The stuffing is 100% recycled, but the pellets that give Honey her weight are plastic, and we'd rather say so than let the recycled filling imply the whole toy is plastic-free. If that rules it out for you, five of the eight animals are soft-filled throughout — the elephant, lion, giraffe, sloth and penguin chick.

Will a child know what a pygmy hippo is?
Not at first, and that's half the appeal. It gets explained once and then becomes theirs in a way a lion never quite does, because every other child has a lion. If you want the instantly recognisable option instead, Echo the Elephant is the safe bet.

Does it make a good gift?
It's our pick for the baby who already has the obvious animals, or for a parent who'd rather the nursery didn't look like everyone else's. Bouncy the Bush Baby is the other one in that category, and also weighted. The matching Pygmy Hippo Hand-Puppet Cloth Book makes it a pair without doubling the cost.

🦁 Meet the rest of the Zoo Crew

Eight animals, all from birth, all with 100% recycled stuffing. Sizes differ more than the photographs suggest, so they are listed:

• Echo the Elephant — 30 x 20cm. The classic, and the easiest ears to hold.
• Lennon the Lion — 30 x 20cm. A fluffy mane against velvety fur, so the most texture of the eight.
• Giggles the Giraffe — 32 x 9cm. The tallest and slimmest, and the easiest to carry about by the neck.
• Sonny the Sloth — 30 x 20cm. The calm one, for winding down.
• Pebble the Penguin Chick — 25 x 23cm. Almost round, and the easiest to hold with both arms.
• Bouncy the Bush Baby — 30 x 20cm. The one nobody else's toddler has, and also weighted.
• Honey the Pygmy Hippo — this one, 31 x 16cm. Squat, sturdy and weighted to sit up.
• Raffles the Red Panda — 30 x 16cm, where the tail is the whole point.

Beyond the plush, the Clip & Go animals are smaller with a pram clip and a teething ring, the hand-puppet cloth books put the animal on your hand, and Never Touch the Zoo Crew! is the touch-and-feel book the range grew out of. See it all in our Zoo Crew collection.

Our guides to when soft toys and comforters are safe to introduce and the best toys for babies under 6 months go into more detail.

❤️ From our family to yours

Carefully chosen products for babies, toddlers and parents. Browse the whole Zoo Crew range and the rest of the Make Believe Ideas collection — free UK delivery on orders over £25.