Photos: Baby hippo is a big surprise at the L.A. Zoo

The Los Angeles Zoo invited the media Tuesday to meet its newest star, a 50-pound hippopotamus born Friday. The calf, a surprise because its mother was on birth control, was the first hippo to be born at the zoo in 26 years. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Nov. 4, 2014 3:08 PM PT

The newborn is the first hippopotamus calf to be born at the L.A. Zoo in 26 years and was a surprise because the 10-year-old mother, Mara, was on birth control.

Baby hippo is a big surprise at the L.A. Zoo

Mara, left, a 10-year-old hippo at the L.A. Zoo, gave birth in front of a crowd of people last Friday, becoming the first hippo to give birth at the zoo in 26 years. She and her baby are doing fine in their pool, munching on lettuce and taking long naps. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Mara, 10, is the first hippo to give birth at the L.A. Zoo in 26 years. Her calf was born on Halloween. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Mara, 10, and her baby meet the press on Tuesday. The calf was born at the L.A. Zoo on Friday. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The newest resident of the Los Angeles Zoo is a 50-pound hippopotamus. The calf was born on Halloween. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Photographers take photos of mother hippo Mara and her baby at the L.A. Zoo on Tuesday. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The hippo calf rests its head on a rock Tuesday. It is the first hippo to be born at the L.A. Zoo in more than a quarter-century. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The hippo calf nuzzles with its mother, Mara, at a media event at the L.A. Zoo on Tuesday. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)