---
title: "Pygmy Hippopotamus"
description: "Choeropsis liberiensis — Mammals. The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (Choeropsis 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."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pygmy-hippopotamus
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pygmy Hippopotamus

> Choeropsis liberiensis — Mammals. The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (Choeropsis 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.

- Scientific name: *Choeropsis liberiensis*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 447
- Wikidata: [Q22110899](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22110899)
- iNaturalist taxon: [74192](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/74192)

## Names

- en: Pygmy Hippopotamus
- de: Zwergflusspferd
- es: Hipopótamo enano
- fr: Hippopotame Nain
- it: Hexaprotodon liberiensis
- nl: Dwergnijlpaard
- pl: Hipopotamek karłowaty

## Countries with the most observations

CI (13)

## Summary

The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (Choeropsis 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. It has been extirpated from Nigeria and possibly Guinea-Bissau.
The pygmy hippopotamus 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 common hippopotamus…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_hippopotamus

## Photo

![Pygmy Hippopotamus](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pygmy-hippopotamus/medium.jpg)

Photo: Chuckupd · Public domain · commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pygmy_hippopotamus_pair.jpg

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pygmy-hippopotamus?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).