Monday, June 17, 2019

HIPPOS #6


3 comments:

Chic Silber said...


Either a pigmy or a punk

Or maybe a pigmy punk

Good size for an ADA

"comfort animal"

Paul Gutheil said...

A pigmy hippo. The Bronx used to have one, and Carson & Barnes and the Catskill Game Farm, among others.

Richard Reynolds said...

This is the Amer. Circus Corps' pygmy hippo Jimmy. He was acquired in the mid 1920s and was the first pygmy on an American circus.

He was also the first hippo ever on a motorized show. That was in 1924 when Hagenbeck-Wallce loaned him to the Honest Bill truck show for a brief time.

Jimmy also appeared in the ring on the indoor winter dates which featured animals etc from Peru.

Jimmy appeared variously on H-W , Sells Floto, and finally John Robinson. In late 1931, he was one of five hippos shipped from Peru to California for use by MGM in filming the first Weismuller Tarzan movie. The hippo scenes were filmed at Lake Sherwood. Pens for the hippos were built on he shore.

The big male Nile Hippo Victor broke through the side of his pen and into that of Jimmy whom he proceeded to kill