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{{Short description|Small species of hippopotamus
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{{Speciesbox
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The [[Orbit (anatomy)|orbits]] and [[nostril]]s of a pygmy hippo are much less pronounced, an adaptation from spending less time in deep water (where pronounced orbits and nostrils help the common hippo breathe and see). The feet of pygmy hippos are narrower, but the toes are more spread out and have less webbing, to assist in walking on the forest floor.<ref name="National Zoo on pygmy hippos" />
Despite adaptations to a more [[terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] life than the common hippopotamus, pygmy hippos are still more aquatic than all other terrestrial [[even-toed ungulate]]s. The ears and nostrils of pygmy hippos have strong muscular valves to aid submerging underwater, and the skin physiology is dependent on the availability of water.<ref name="The Hippos" /><ref name="Robinson" />
== Behavior ==
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[[File:Pygmy Hippopotamus with the young.jpg|thumb|Baby stands near its parent in the [[Jihlava Zoo]], Czech Republic]]
[[File:Pygmy-Hippopotamus-Lisbon-zoo.jpg|thumb|Mother and child taking a bath at Lisbon Zoo]]
A study of [[breeding in the wild|breeding]] behavior in the wild has never been conducted; the artificial conditions of captivity may cause the observed behavior of pygmy hippos in zoos to differ from natural conditions. [[Sexual maturity]] for the pygmy hippopotamus occurs between three and five years of age.<ref name="Robinson" /> The youngest reported age for giving birth is a pygmy hippo in the [[Zoo Basel]], [[Switzerland]] which bore a calf at three years and three months.<ref name="The Hippos" /> The [[oestrus cycle]] of a female pygmy hippo lasts an average of 35.5 days, with the oestrus itself lasting between 24 and 48 hours.<ref name="Redlist" /><ref name="Distort" />
Pygmy hippos consort for mating, but the duration of the relationship is unknown. In zoos they breed as [[monogamy in animals|monogamous pairs]]. [[copulation (zoology)|Copulation]] can take place on land or in the water, and a pair will mate one to four times during an oestrus period. In captivity, pygmy hippos have been conceived and born in all months of the year.<ref name="Robinson" /> The gestation period ranges from 190 to 210 days, and usually a single young is born, though twins are known to occur.<ref name="The Hippos" />
The common hippopotamus gives birth and mates only in the water, but pygmy hippos mate and give birth on both land and water. Young pygmy hippos can swim almost immediately. At birth, pygmy hippos weigh 4.5–6.2 kg (9.9–13.7 lb) with males weighing about 0.25 kg (0.55 lb) more than females. Pygmy hippos are fully [[wean]]ed between six and eight months of age; before weaning they do not accompany their mother when she leaves the water to forage, but instead hide in the water by themselves. The mother returns to the hiding spot about three times a day and calls out for the calf to suckle. Suckling occurs with the mother lying on her side.<ref name="The Hippos" />
=== Temperament ===
Although not considered dangerous to humans and generally docile, pygmy hippos can be highly aggressive at times. Although there have been no human deaths associated with pygmy hippos, there have been several attacks - while most of these were provoked by human behaviour, several have had no apparent cause.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Álvarez |first=Juan |date=2023-02-05 |title=Are Pygmy Hippos Aggressive? Are Dangerous as The Common? |url=https://wwwildnature.com/are-pygmy-hippos-aggressive/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518163411/https://wwwildnature.com/are-pygmy-hippos-aggressive/ |archive-date=2023-05-18 |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=WWWILDNATURE |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Conservation ==
[[File:Pygmy hippopotamus pair.jpg|thumb|Pair at the [[Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy]]]]
The greatest threat to the remaining pygmy hippopotamus population in the wild is loss of habitat. The forests in which pygmy hippos live have been subject to logging, settling and conversion to agriculture, with little efforts made to make logging sustainable. As forests shrink, the populations become more fragmented, leading to less genetic diversity in the potential mating pool.<ref name="Redlist"/>
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== History and folklore ==
[[File:Pygmy hippopotamus hungry.jpg|thumb|Pair at the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy]]
While the common hippopotamus
Early field reports of the animal misidentified it as a [[wild hog]]. Several skulls of the species were sent to the American natural scientist [[Samuel G. Morton]], during his residency in [[Monrovia]], [[Liberia]]. Morton first described the species in 1843. The first complete specimens were collected as part of a comprehensive investigation of Liberian fauna in the 1870s and 1880s by Dr. [[Johann Büttikofer]]. The specimens were taken to the [[Natural History Museum, Leiden|Natural History Museum]] in [[Leiden]], The [[Netherlands]].<ref name=Robinson/>
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In 1927, [[Harvey Firestone]] of [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone Tires]] presented [[Billy (pygmy hippo)|Billy the pygmy hippo]] to U.S. President [[Calvin Coolidge]]. Coolidge donated Billy to the [[National Zoological Park (United States)|National Zoo in Washington, D.C.]] According to the zoo, Billy is a common ancestor to most pygmy hippos in U.S. zoos today.<ref name="National Zoo on pygmy hippos" /><ref name=Tale>{{Cite journal | journal = [[Quaternary International]] | volume = 117 | issue = 1 | year = 2004 | pages = 119–123 | title = The hippo's tale: how the anatomy and physiology of Late Neogene Hexaprotodon shed light on Late Neogene environmental change | author = Jablonski, Nina G. | doi = 10.1016/S1040-6182(03)00121-6 | bibcode = 2004QuInt.117..119J }}</ref>
[[Moo Deng]] is a pygmy hippo living in [[Khao Kheow Open Zoo]], in [[Thailand]], who gained notability in September 2024 as a popular [[Internet meme]] after images of her went viral online.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2024 |title=Moo Deng: Thailand zoo's celebrity baby pygmy hippo |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy848292dr4o |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=[[BBC]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> Because of the popularity of the hippo, whose name translates to “bouncy pork”, the zoo saw a boosted attendance. It has been reported that some visitors to the zoo threw water and other objects at the baby hippo to get her to react.<ref> {{Cite web |date=2024-09-29 |title=Moo Deng: Why is internet obsessed with the viral baby hippo? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/southeast-asia/moo-deng-livestream-baby-pygmy-hippo-viral-memes-b2620832.html |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>
Several folktales have been collected about the pygmy hippopotamus. One tale says that pygmy hippos carry a shining diamond in their mouths to help travel through thick forests at night; by day the pygmy hippo has a secret hiding place for the diamond, but if a hunter catches a pygmy hippo at night the diamond can be taken. Villagers sometimes believed that baby pygmy hippos do not nurse but rather lick secretions off the skin of the mother.<ref name=Robinson/>
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