Editing Pygmy hippopotamus (section)

=== Reproduction ===
[[File:Pygmy Hippopotamus with the young.jpg|thumb|Baby stands near its parent in the [[Jihlava Zoo]], Czechia]]
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 hippopotamus 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 hippopotamus lasts an average of 35.5 days, with the oestrus itself lasting between 24 and 48&nbsp;hours.<ref name="Redlist" /><ref name="Distort" />

pygmy hippopotamuses 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" />

[[File:Pygmy-Hippopotamus-Lisbon-zoo.jpg|thumb|Mother and child taking a bath at Lisbon Zoo|left]]
The common hippopotamus gives birth and mates only in the water, but pygmy hippopotamuses 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&nbsp;kg (9.9–13.7&nbsp;lb) with males weighing about 0.25&nbsp;kg (0.55&nbsp;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" />