Categories
Animal Weight

How much does a Pygmy hippopotamus weight?

It is hard to guess what a Pygmy hippopotamus weights. But we have the answer:

An adult Pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) on average weights 231 kg (509.27 lbs).

The Pygmy hippopotamus is from the family Hippopotamidae (genus: Hexaprotodon). It is usually born with about 5.73 kg (12.63 lbs). They can live for up to 43.75 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 1.6 meter (5′ 3″). On average, Pygmy hippopotamuss can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 1.

As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.

The average adult weight of a Pygmy hippopotamus is 231 kg (509.27 lbs)

The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis) is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast.The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being its much larger relative, the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or Nile hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus displays many terrestrial adaptations, but like the hippo, it is semiaquatic and relies on water to keep its skin moist and its body temperature cool. Behaviors such as mating and giving birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippo is herbivorous, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses, and fruits it finds in the forests.A rare nocturnal forest creature, the pygmy hippopotamus is a difficult animal to study in the wild.Pygmy hippos were unknown outside West Africa until the 19th century. Introduced to zoos in the early 20th century, they breed well in captivity and the vast majority of research is derived from zoo specimens. The survival of the species in captivity is more assured than in the wild; the World Conservation Union estimates that fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remain in the wild.Pygmy hippos are primarily threatened by loss of habitat, as forests are logged and converted to farm land, and are also vulnerable to poaching, hunting for bushmeat, natural predators, and war. Pygmy hippos are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia.

Animals of the same family as a Pygmy hippopotamus

We found other animals of the Hippopotamidae family:

  • Hippopotamus bringing 1528.16 kilos (3369.01 lbs) to the scale

Animals with the same weight as a Pygmy hippopotamus

As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Hexaprotodon liberiensis:

Animals with the same size as a Pygmy hippopotamus

Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Pygmy hippopotamus:

Animals with the same litter size as a Pygmy hippopotamus

Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Pygmy hippopotamus:

Animals with the same life expectancy as a Pygmy hippopotamus

Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Pygmy hippopotamus: