RVA's unforgettable animals of 2025
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Poppy, Rocky, Patrick, Sandy & Barb, Francine and Sesame. Images: Courtesy of: Metro Richmond Zoo, Maymont, Hanover animal control, Sesame and Sabrina Moreno
This was a banner year for animal stories in RVA.
Why it matters: We had not one but three local critters go viral in 2025.
And that was just some of the animal news this year. Let's take a look back.
🦛 There was Poppy, the Metro Richmond Zoo's baby pygmy hippo.
- Sure, she was born in 2024, but the zoo's January naming contest for her garnered more than 116,000 votes from 165 countries. (Poppy won out over Hammie Mae with 52.8% of the vote.)
🐐 Who can forget Sesame, the pygmy goat support animal whose presence in Sleepy Hollow divided the Henrico neighborhood in the spring.
🦔 The summer brought Sandy and Barb, the precious porcupette pals who are climbing all the things and noshing on all the veggies at Maymont.
- The park also welcomed Maddie, an Irish Dexter calf and baby goats Tiger Lily and Larkspur this year.
🐆 There were six new cheetah cubs born at the Metro Richmond Zoo in May.
- Be sure to say hello to Lagos, Bukavu, Cairo, Matola, Kampala and Lusaka when you visit.
🦧 Remember Patrick, the orangutan at the Metro Richmond Zoo, and his double knot?
- The lovable primate got a brand new cloak for his 34th birthday and delighted the internet with his specific style of wrapping it around himself.
🦃 Somehow, we previously missed Gary, the Charter Colony Turkey who showed up near the Chesterfield neighborhood (and frequently in the middle of the street) this fall.
- He's become the unofficial neighborhood mascot and his Facebook fan page now has more than 1,500 followers.
🙀 Patches, our viral chunkster kitty from 2023, reached his goal weight this summer.
- And his weight loss journey continues.
🦝 And, of course, Rocky, as Hanover animal control dubbed him. The Ashland drunk raccoon that captured the nation's attention after his Black Friday crime spree through an ABC store.
- Don't forget, he was released back into the country, where we can only hope he's plotting his next drinking binge.
🐈 And last but never-ever least for Richmonders: Francine, the beloved, forever queen of RVA critters, and her 200-mile-round-trip epic journey between Lowe's properties.
- She is back where she belongs, inside the Broad Street Lowe's, bringing joy to all Richmond home improvement shoppers.