Obi the baby hippo stopped to give his mum a birthday kiss as she celebrated at her party at Melbourne Zoo on Tuesday afternoon.
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Petre was treated to a cake of lettuce topped with a "31" made out of watermelon.
Obi, born on May 27, gave the feast a miss, preferring to splash in the running water filling the pool.
Petre, born at Adelaide Zoo, came to Melbourne in 2012 after taking part in a regional breeding program at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.
Obi, her fourth calf, is the first offspring with current mate Felix.
His birth marked a significant success for the zoo as the first pygmy hippo to be born there in 33 years.
Pygmy hippos are an endangered species native to the rainforests of West Africa.
Researchers believe fewer than 3000 survive in the wild, with deforestation and poaching for meat major threats.
Obi, whose name means "'heart" in Igbo, a Nigerian language, has grown quickly from his birth weight of around 5 kilograms.
