Pictured: The baby pygmy hippo who's barely bigger than a lettuce leaf



Hippos kill more humans than any other animal - but this little fellow doesn't look like he could do too much harm.



A newborn baby pygmy from Rotterdam's Blijdorp Zoo, he's dwarfed by lettuce leaves as he has a nibble with his mum.



Much tamer and shyer than their aggressive cousins, pygmy hippos are now critically endangered, with less than 3000 remaining in the wild.



A newly born pygmy hippopotamus has a nibble with its mother in Rotterdam's Blijdorp Zoo

They're indigenous to the tropical forests of West Africa, and their primary threat is the loss of their forest habitat due to the timber industry. They're also hunted extensively for their meat.

The aptly named pygmy grows to just over 3ft tall - just one fifth of the size of the common hippopotamus - and is the only other species of hippo in the world.

Reclusive and nocturnal, the mammals are semi-aquatic and need to live near water to keep their skin moisturised and their body cool.



They sometimes even mate and give birth in water, and they secrete oils known as 'blood-sweat' to keep their hide waterproof.

Pygmy hippos are plant-eating mammals, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruits they find in the forest.

The deadliest mammal in Africa: The common hippo can weigh up to 4500 kg



