Pygmy Hippos
Pygmy Hippopotamus
Only about as big as a human baby at birth, the pygmy hippopotamus is a “mini-me” of its distant cousin, the Nile hippopotamus (San Francisco Zoo). Scientists estimate there are no more than 2,000 to 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the world, thus they were recently listed as Endangered by The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, ICUN (National Zoo). The pygmy hippo is at a high risk of becoming extinct in the wild; however, there have been many success stories of breeding in captivity to keep the species going.
The Hexaprotodon liberiensis (a.k.a pygmy hippo) are members of the Hippopotamidae family with their closest relatives being pigs. In fact, the pygmy hippo is about the size of a healthy pig (National Zoo). According to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, the pygmy hippo is in the Artiodactyla order and the Suiformes suborder. While the pygmy hippo does resemble their cousin, the Nile Hippo, several distinctions set it apart. First and foremost is their size. Pygmy hippos are smaller, weighing anywhere from 350 to 550 pounds and stand about 2.5 feet at the shoulder and measure about 5 feet in length (National Zoo). The pygmy hippo is also more terrestrial, meaning they tend to spend more time on land versus in the water like the Nile Hippo. That’s not to say that the pygmy hippos aren’t good swimmers as they have “valves” that close their ears and nostrils when submerged in the water and have the ability to walk on the bottom of a river and stay submerged for up to 6 minutes. However, their feet (or hoofs) don’t have as much webbing between them as the Nile Hippo, which gives the pygmy better footing on land (National Zoo). The pygmy also has shiny, dark-colored, hairless skin. Their shiny appearance is due to a secretion they have to protect their skin and keep it moist while on land.
Pygmy hippos are found in the dense, swampy forests near rivers, streams and...
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