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PYGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS

Pygmy hippopotamus lives a solitary life in the rainforests of West Africa. Because of hunting and increasing loss of habitat, it is now endangered throughout most of its range.

Pygmy Hippopotamus Adult

HABITS

The pygmy hippo is a solitary animal that lives among dense vegetation along streams and swamps and in the rainforests of West Africa. It sometimes lives in cultivated areas, but the pygmy hippo is shy: it avoids people, as well as other hippos. Each hippo has its own territory. The male's territory is larger than the female's; both mark their territorial boundaries with their droppings. The pygmy hippo feeds mainly when it is dark. It spends most of the day resting within its territory. It changes resting places once or twice a week.

BREEDING

The territories of the male and female pygmy hippo often overlap; thus when a female is ready to mate, there is usually a male nearby.
Pygmy Hippo Baby

A single calf is born seven months after mating. It suckles two to three times a day. For the first few weeks of its life, the calf is unable to walk very far, so the mother hides it in the bushes and returns to feed it. At five months, the calf weighs 10 times more than it did at birth. It is not known how long the calf remains with its mother, but it is sexually mature at four to five years old.




FOOD

The pygmy hippo is an herbivore; it feeds only on plant material. It uproots swamp plants and eats them whole. The hippo also crushes hard fruit with its strong teeth and strips leaves from shrubs and young trees. It sometimes reaches higher branches by standing on its hind legs and leaning on the tree trunk with its front legs. The pygmy hippo feeds in the late afternoon until midnight, then returns to its resting place.

PYGMY HIPPO & MAN

The pygmy hippo is hunted and eaten by the people who live in the area it inhibits. But a greater threat to the species survival is the destruction of its swamp and rainforest habitats. Fortunately several national parks have been established in the Ivory Coast and Guinea that provide some protection for the pygmy hippo.

KEY FACTS

Sizes

    Height:    2 1/3-3ft.
    Length:    Head and body,5-6ft.tall, 6in.
    Weight:    350-600lb.

Breeding

    Sexual maturity:    4-5 years in captivity
    Breeding season:   Not known in the wild. Captive young have been born throughout the year.
    Gestation:                 190-   210 days.
    No. of young:          Usually 1.

Lifestyle

    Habit:  Solitary. May form small family groups.
    Diet:    Plant material such as leaves, shoots, roots, and fruit.
Did You Know?
  • The Pygmy hippo is a noisy eater. It can be heard feeding from as far away as 150 feet.
  • The pygmy hippo was unknown to western scientists until the mid-nineteenth century.
  • The pygmy hippo loses water through its skin so quickly that it must live in a damp,shady habitat.