Billy (pygmy hippo)

Billy
Other name(s)William Johnson Hippopotamus
SpeciesPygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis)
SexMale
BornBefore 1927
Liberia
Died(1955-10-11)October 11, 1955
OccupationStud
EmployerNational Zoo
Years activec. 1930 – 1955
Offspring23 calves

Billy, also known as William Johnson Hippopotamus[1] (before 1927 – October 11, 1955[2]), was a pygmy hippopotamus given to United States President Calvin Coolidge. Captured in Liberia, he was given to Coolidge by Harvey S. Firestone in 1927. Billy spent most of his life in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. In addition to his fame as an exotic presidential pet—which afforded him a trip to the 1939 New York World's Fair—Billy is also notable as the common ancestor to most pygmy hippos in American zoos.[3] By the time of his death in 1955, Billy had sired 23 calves, 13 of whom survived at least a year.

  1. ^ Roby, Marguerite (September 25, 2012). "Goody Goody Gumdrops". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Crandall, Lee S. (1964). Management of Wild Mammals in Captivity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  3. ^ "Pygmy Hippo fact sheet". nationalzoo.si.edu. National Zoological Park. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2007.