Pygmy Hippopotamus

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.

Hippos are versatile in communication. They can make sounds like a horse neighing, which might be one reason for their name. Hippopotamus means "river horse". They also communicate by grunting, bellowing, and, of all things, mooing. A mooing sound is typically that of a female hippo looking for a mate.

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.

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.