CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — The Pygmy Hippo exhibit at the Metro Richmond Zoo opened to the public Friday, June 15. Pygmy hippos are a highly endangered species native of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast. There are just 3,000 Pygmy hippos left in the wild, according to zoo officials.
The exhibit, which has been under construction since Fall of 2016, features two Pygmy hippos, named Corwin and Iris.
Corwin is a two-year-old male, while Iris is an 11-year-old female.
Adult Pygmy hippos grow to stand between just two and a half to three feet tall and around five feet long. They weigh between 350 and 600 pounds.
You can view the semi-aquatic hippos either on land or in the water through an underwater viewing window at the zoo’s most expensive exhibit to date.
The Richmond Metro Zoo is located at 8300 Beaver Bridge Road in Moseley, Va.
