176:
183:
299:
247:, who was more widely known for and associated with his interest in animals. By August 1927, Coolidge had sent the second largest collection of animals of any president after Roosevelt to the zoo, and paid them frequent visits. Upon his arrival, Billy was one of the most-valuable animals the zoo had ever received, and was only the eighth pygmy hippopotamus to be brought to the United States. Billy was a popular animal; several months after his arrival,
520:
334:
to distinguish them. By the birth of
Gumdrop XVI, the zoo had noticed something curious: of all Billy's calves, only one was male. Research would later confirm that pygmy hippos in captivity are far more likely to give birth to females, though not by such an extreme ratio as Billy. Twenty-three
261:
Today, pygmy hippos breed well in captivity: since Billy's arrival, 58 pygmy hippos have been born at the
National Zoo alone. As one of the earliest pygmy hippos in captivity in the U.S. zoo system, Billy went on to become the direct ancestor of nearly all pygmy hippos in American zoos. When Billy
329:
Between 1931 and 1954, Hannah gave birth to 15 of Billy's calves, 7 of whom were reared or lived at least one year. Between 1943 and 1956, Matilda gave birth to 8 of Billy's calves, 6 of which were reared. At some point during the 1940s, the press started to refer to Billy as
William Johnson
266:. A mate for Billy, a female named Hannah, was acquired by the zoo on September 4, 1929. Billy's and Hannah's first calf was born on August 26, 1931, but did not survive the week. "Inability to survive the neglect of an errant mother was the cause given for baby Hippo's demise", eulogized
285:
As Hannah's fourth pregnancy progressed, zookeepers noticed she seemed to be less agitated than previous pregnancies and attributed this to their new quarters: during her previous three pregnancies, Hannah had lived in the zoo's lion house, a stressful environment for a pregnant hippo. On
528:
335:
years after
Coolidge's death (January 5, 1933) Billy himself died on October 11, 1955, five months before the birth of Gumdrop XVIII. "He carried his work on to the end", said a zoo official. Hannah followed Billy in death on March 6, 1958.
242:
In
Coolidge's autobiography he wrote about the unusual menagerie he collected and stated that he donated many of these animals, including Billy, to the National Zoo. Though Coolidge had a deep fascination with animals, he was overshadowed by
272:. Over the next two years, two more calves would follow, both of which died in infancy. Billy's third calf was killed when Hannah rolled on top of the baby and crushed it. "She's just a bad mother", said the zoo's long-time director
382:, on February 4, 1960, and traveled via station wagon to Washington the next day, where he would continue Billy's breeding legacy with the zoo's female pygmy hippos, two of which were Billy's daughters.
860:
Stroman, H.R., & Slaughter, L.M., "The care and breeding of the pygmy hippopotamus
Choeropsis liberiensis in captivity", National Zoological Park, International Zoo Yearbook Vol. 12, 1972
892:
235:
and other unusual animals. At the time, pygmy hippos were virtually unknown in the United States. On May 26, 1927, Coolidge was informed that he would receive the rare
343:
After a year or two at the
National Zoo, Billy's offspring were typically sent to other locations. Among the places to which his progeny were transferred were the
326:, Mann traveled with the Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia in 1940 and acquired a second mate for Billy, another female who came to be known as Matilda.
253:
wrote Billy was "as frisky as a dog. Even the antics of the monkeys go unobserved when the keeper opens the tiny hippo's cage and cuts up with him."
887:
809:
473:
198:
148:
94:
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to most pygmy hippos in
American zoos. By the time of his death in 1955, Billy had sired 23 calves, 13 of whom survived at least a year.
374:
dispatched a search party to find a new male pygmy hippopotamus to ship to
Washington. The pygmy hippopotamus, named Totota, arrived in
322:, where he appeared in the Firestone exhibit. Billy and Hannah successfully had more calves, and because of Billy's worth as a breeding
882:
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367:. In 1960, after learning that the zoo's female pygmy hippos remained without male companionship after Billy's death,
877:
448:
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223:, who was the U.S. president at the time, was known for his collection of animals, including many dogs, birds, a
768:
749:
902:
897:
182:
670:
477:
754:
368:
714:
Gross, Gerald G. (August 11, 1940). "Dr. Mann Back With Rare Beasts: 300 New
Tenants for Zoo Here".
627:"Pygmy Hippo Kills Its Third Offspring; Jungle Mother Rolls on Latest Infant and Crushes Out Life".
793:
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239:, already adult-sized at 6 feet (1.8 m) long and around 600 pounds (270 kg), as a gift.
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244:
129:
542:
Special to The New York Times (May 27, 1927). "Baby Hippo for Coolidge Is Coming From Liberia".
773:
644:"Baby-Killing Hippo Gives Birth Again at D.C. Zoo; Belated Baby Born at Zoo on Mother's Day".
574:
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344:
763:
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750:"Distorted Sex Ratio at Birth in the Captive Pygmy Hippopotamus, Hexaprotodon Liberiensis"
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Hippopotamus. The zoo developed the tradition of naming all his calves Gumdrop, using
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Such was Billy's popularity in the 1930s that at the end of the decade he traveled to
871:
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84:
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first came to the zoo, however, keepers did not know much about pygmy hippopotamus
593:
Gross, Gerald G. "Pity the Poor Stork! He's Late With a Baby Hippo for the Zoo".
777:
263:
375:
825:
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224:
219:, where he was captured on one of Firestone Tires' large plantations.
216:
140:
59:
36:
697:"Pygmy Hippo to Become Polygamist, New Mate Captured by Expedition".
683:
364:
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311:
844:"Hippo Takes a Shipboard Stroll, and Misses His Washington Debut".
678:(5). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 482–485.
297:
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808:"Annual Report on The National Zoological Park". Washington, DC:
228:
460:
458:
769:
10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0674:DSRABI>2.0.CO;2
668:(1940). "The Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia".
521:"Pets of Presidents, From the Dog House to the White House"
16:
Calvin Coolidge's pygmy hippopotamus (before 1927-1955)
111:
100:
90:
80:
65:
53:
45:
35:
24:
290:of 1938, Hannah gave birth to a healthy baby.
147:in 1927. Billy spent most of his life in the
503:"Coolidge Pets Could Make Zoo of Their Own".
8:
823:"Pygmy Hippopotamus Starts for Washington".
19:
563:The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge (1929)
18:
767:
359:, and international destinations such as
893:National Zoological Park (United States)
610:"Ignored by Mother, Infant Hippo Dies".
128:(before 1927 – October 11, 1955), was a
445:Management of Wild Mammals in Captivity
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410:Roby, Marguerite (25 September 2012).
282:, upon the death of the third infant.
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151:In addition to his fame as an exotic
7:
197:(right), who donated Billy to the
155:—which afforded him a trip to the
14:
213:Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
527:. April 23, 2001. Archived from
416:Smithsonian Institution Archives
181:
174:
149:National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
888:United States presidential pets
850:. February 5, 1960. p. 29.
737:. January 31, 1955. p. 26.
731:"Baby Gumdrop Arrives at Zoo".
392:United States presidential pets
355:, the Miller Bros. Circus, the
349:Philadelphia Zoological Gardens
616:. August 30, 1931. p. M3.
159:—Billy is also notable as the
143:, he was given to Coolidge by
1:
104:
797:. March 31, 1956. p. 1.
791:"Gumdrop XVII Born At Zoo".
703:. July 10, 1940. p. 15.
126:William Johnson Hippopotamus
31:William Johnson Hippopotamus
833:. June 22, 1960. p. 2.
449:University of Chicago Press
919:
650:. May 9, 1938. p. X1.
633:. May 5, 1933. p. 18.
320:1939 New York World's Fair
304:1939 New York World's Fair
157:1939 New York World's Fair
883:Individual hippopotamuses
748:Zschokke, Samuel (2002).
443:Crandall, Lee S. (1964).
810:National Zoological Park
474:National Zoological Park
466:"Pygmy Hippo fact sheet"
671:The Scientific Monthly
412:"Goody Goody Gumdrops"
307:
301:
211:, the founder of the
193:(left) gave Billy to
755:Journal of Mammalogy
215:, acquired Billy in
794:The Washington Post
734:The Washington Post
717:The Washington Post
700:The Washington Post
647:The Washington Post
630:The Washington Post
613:The Washington Post
596:The Washington Post
531:on October 1, 2007.
525:The Washington Post
302:Billy attended the
279:The Washington Post
269:The Washington Post
209:Harvey S. Firestone
191:Harvey S. Firestone
145:Harvey S. Firestone
21:
878:1955 animal deaths
847:The New York Times
830:The New York Times
545:The New York Times
509:. August 28, 1927.
506:The New York Times
470:nationalzoo.si.edu
369:Liberian President
353:Catskill Game Farm
339:A legacy continued
308:
257:Parenting troubles
250:The New York Times
245:Theodore Roosevelt
130:pygmy hippopotamus
41:Pygmy hippopotamus
579:978-1-4102-1622-9
345:Cole Bros. Circus
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476:. Archived from
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153:presidential pet
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76:October 11, 1955
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898:Calvin Coolidge
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221:Calvin Coolidge
195:Calvin Coolidge
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161:common ancestor
137:Calvin Coolidge
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372:William Tubman
357:Fort Worth Zoo
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332:Roman numerals
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294:Life as a stud
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139:. Captured in
134:U.S. President
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720:. p. 25.
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662:Mann, William
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599:. p. X1.
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571:1-4102-1622-5
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529:the original
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482:. Retrieved
478:the original
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419:. Retrieved
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328:
309:
288:Mother's Day
284:
277:
267:
260:
248:
241:
206:
199:National Zoo
125:
121:
120:
101:Years active
95:National Zoo
447:. Chicago:
167:Early years
57:Before 1927
872:Categories
484:2007-11-04
421:8 November
398:References
318:, for the
81:Occupation
72:1955-10-11
778:1545-1542
264:husbandry
229:lion cubs
207:In 1927,
132:given to
115:23 calves
112:Offspring
107:1930–1955
386:See also
380:New York
376:Brooklyn
316:New York
91:Employer
826:Reuters
812:. 1959.
233:raccoon
225:wallaby
217:Liberia
141:Liberia
122:Billy,
60:Liberia
37:Species
27:name(s)
776:
682:
577:
569:
365:London
361:Sydney
312:Queens
25:Other
684:17411
680:JSTOR
237:hippo
20:Billy
828:via
774:ISSN
575:ISBN
567:ISBN
423:2018
363:and
324:stud
231:, a
85:Stud
66:Died
54:Born
49:Male
764:doi
573:or
276:to
124:or
46:Sex
874::
772:.
760:83
758:.
752:.
676:51
674:.
664:;
585:^
565:,
561:.
523:.
493:^
472:.
468:.
457:^
431:^
414:.
378:,
351:,
347:,
314:,
227:,
201:.
105:c.
780:.
766::
686:.
487:.
451:.
425:.
306:.
74:)
70:(
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