January 30 saw a mounted pigmy hippopotamus skeleton cross the auction block on day two of Bonhams' hotly-contested Gentleman's Library sale (January 29-30).

The rare, diminutive skeleton brought £11,250 ($18,000) to the London event - selling securely inside its £10,000-15,000 presale estimate.

Fewer than 2,000 Pigmy hippos are believed to remain in the wild

Pigmy hippos are classified as endangered as there are believed to be only 2,000 remaining in the wild.

A close cousin of the common hippopotamus; pigmy hippos are highly intelligent, herbivorous creatures native to west Africa. Profoundly reclusive and largely nocturnal, they are considerably smaller than the common hippopotamus, with proportionally longer legs and less prominent eyes and ears - evolutionary adaptations to a largely aquatic lifestyle.

Day one of the sale saw paintings of The Craven Heifer and George "The Coachman" Stevenson bringing strong results, selling for £16,250 ($25,500) and £12,500 ($19,700), respectively.

Here at Paul Fraser Collectibles we also have a host of unique collectibles in stock.

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