A baby pygmy hippopotamus was unveiled to the media at Melbourne zoo today, the first to be born there since 1981, local media reported.

The mother, named Petre, gave birth to the healthy male on May 25, her fourth calf overall but first since she came to Melbourne from Taronga Zoo in 2012, local media added.

Just two weeks after the male calf was born, zookeepers were pleased with his progress.

"She's a very caring and attentive mother. She's been looking after the little calf really well," zookeeper James Uren said.

Zoo staff have yet to name the calf, local media reported.

An adult pygmy hippopotamus, smaller cousins of the hippopotamus, typically reaches around 70-80 cm tall and weighs around 250 kg, about a quarter of the size of a full-sized hippo, the Pygmy Hippo Foundation has said

Pygmy hippos are native to West Africa, with most thought to be in Liberia and a smaller number in Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, according to the Pygmy Hippo Foundation.

They are classified as an endangered species by the Zoological Society of London. Their numbers are declining as their habitat is destroyed and they are targeted by bushmeat hunters, the Pygmy Hippo Foundation said.