Pygmy hippopotamus Сhoeropsis (Hexaprotodon) liberiensis
The pygmy hippopotamus is significantly smaller than the common hippo: its weight does not exceed 250-260 kg, height ranges from 77 to 83 cm, and its body length is 150 cm. It has more delicate conformation than a common hippo, and does not feature so large head. The pygmy hippo's teeth are also different: it has only one pair of incisors, while the common hippo has two or three. Its brownish-black skin is hairless. The distribution of this rare animal is restricted to Liberia and lower Niger River basin, where it inhabits slow waters in virgin tropical forests. The pygmy hippos are herbivorous; they forage both in water and on land, where they establish a net of tunnel-like paths. Frightened pigmy hippo would storm to water and soundlessly dive. These hippos are not as social as their huge African cousins; they are solitary and secretive animals, and that is why just a very few Europeans were lucky enough to see pygmy hippos in the wild. The first pygmy hippos were brought to Europe as late as in 1912, and these animals started breeding in captivity only in 1931. Gestation in pygmy hippo females lasts about 200 days, and newborn baby weighs from 4.5 to 6.2 kg. Unlike common hippo, the pygmy hippo female gives birth on land rather than in water (in case of the first birth in captive environment, zoo keepers were not aware of this fact and kept pregnant female in water pool – as a result, the newborn baby choked and died). The baby can stand on its legs quite soon, but it starts swimming and diving much later. The pygmy hippopotamus is listed in the category of endangered species of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
