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Animal Age

How old does a Pygmy hippopotamus get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Pygmy hippopotamus reaches?

An adult Pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) usually gets as old as 43.75 years.

Pygmy hippopotamuss are around 200 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 5.73 kg (12.63 lbs) and measure 1.3 cm (0′ 1″). As a member of the Hippopotamidae family (genus: Hexaprotodon), a Pygmy hippopotamus caries out around 1 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 1 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 1.6 meter (5′ 3″).

As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.

A Pygmy hippopotamus gets as old as 43.75 years

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

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Hippopotamidae):

Animals that reach the same age as Pygmy hippopotamus

With an average age of 43.75 years, Pygmy hippopotamus are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Pygmy hippopotamus

The same number of babies at once (1) are born by:

Weighting as much as Pygmy hippopotamus

A fully grown Pygmy hippopotamus reaches around 231 kg (509.27 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Pygmy hippopotamus

Those animals grow as big as a Pygmy hippopotamus: