Baby moose in flavour at zoo!

It’s hoped that the little leggy calf, born on the zoo’s 80th birthday on May 23, will grow into his name and be tall, dark and handsome.

Until then, the bubbly and hungry newcomer is enjoying milk from his mother Minnie and nibbling on leaves from a nearby willow tree.

Chocolate is the first moose born at the zoo for many years.

Keeper Carole Day said new mum Minnie, aged two, is being super-protective and the calf is thriving.

Male moose are famous for their antlers and Chocolate’s dad Melka has already started growing his new set.

Even at the tender age of two Melka has to be strong – the last pair of his antlers weighed an astounding 5.5kg when they eventually fell off back in February.

Visitors to the zoo this week can see Chocolate and mother Minnie in their paddock at the Wild Wild Whipsnade exhibit.

> Another new arrival at Whipsnade is pygmy hippo Sapo, who took his first dip in his outdoor pool yesterday.

The cute calf, now three months old and named after a national park in Liberia, is an important addition to the zoo’s European endangered species programme. The number of pygmy hippos in the wild has dwindled to less than 3,000.