Adult pygmy hippos stand about 75100 cm 246328 ft high at the shoulder are 150175 cm 492574 ft in length and weigh 180275 kg 397606 lb. A common or river hippo weighs about 10 times as much as a pygmy hippo. The pygmy hippopotamus is a medium sized herbivorous mammal that is found inhabiting the humid forests and swamps of west africathe pygmy hippopotamus is closely related to africas other hippopotamus species which is the common hippopotamus but is much smaller in size weighing around a fifth of its enormous cousins weight. Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus hippopotamus minor desmarest1822. Pygmy hippo neonatal body weights are in the range of 4 8 kg at 1 to 4 days after birth and calves that weigh above 5 kg at birth are more likely to survive. The holocene of cyprus at the time of its extinction between 11000 and 9000 years ago size.
Pygmy hippos are rarely found easily recognizable and huge mammals that have always had a relatively small overall population. Tire mogul harvey firestone who owned a rubber plantation in liberia gave president calvin coolidge a pygmy hippo named billy. One part of the. Pygmy hippopotamus pygmy hippopotamus classification and evolution. The data revealed height had a genetic component related to bantu ancestry. Weight of adults in captivity is 160 270 kg weight of wild individuals is not known.
Hippopotamus minor the cyprus dwarf hippopotamus or cypriot pygmy hippopotamus hippopotamus minor is an. They weigh around 180 270 kg 400 600 lbs which is less than a quarter of a common hippo. But 180 270 kg is still a big and dangerous mammal. Pygmy hippos are relatively smaller and weigh between 350 550 pounds. They may be smaller but they are still impressively built animals. They stand 2 and a half feet tall and measure 5 feet from head to tail.
When mature pygmy hippos hexaprotodon liberiensis can reach weights between 352 and 605 pounds 160 to 275 kg still 10 times lighter than normal size hippos. A pygmy hippo calf can nurse from its mother on land or underwater. Billy is an ancestor of almost all pygmy hippos living in american zoos. Pygmy hippos compose a separate class of animals. Their lifespan in captivity ranges from 30 to 55 years though it is unlikely that they live this long in the wild. 120 cm in length 75 cm in height 200kg of weight typical representative.
These animals are closely related to the hippopotamus inhabiting west africa. The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal. Their shoulder height is 75 100 cm. Animal transfer and quarantine. The more bantu ancestry an individual from the pygmy tribe had the taller that individual tended to be. Pygmy hippos are less than a metre in height only around half of their larger cousins.