Species Profile: Pygmy hippopotamus

Hello again, welcome back to animals under threat. Today, we will be covering the Pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). The scientific name for the Pygmy hippopotamus is still currently up for debate by scientists.

The Pygmy hippopotamus is a small hippo that belongs to the family (Hippopotamidae) and is only found in West African forests. It is characterized by their greenish/black/brown skin with a creamy grey for the lower body (pygmy hippopotamus, 2003). The nose and eyes of the Pygmy hippo are much smaller than the common hippopotamus as they spend more time on land than in deep water. The pygmy hippo has glands in its skin which secretes an oil that is red, giving the appearance of “blood sweat”. This sweat is most likely acts like a sunscreen to the hippo and protects its skin for the harsh sunlight. Pygmy hippopotamus only has one set of incisors compared to the common hippopotamus which has two sets of incisors (Blashfield, 2014).

Pair of hippos nuzzling by Raimond Spekking and hippo with mouth open by unknown.

Pygmy hippo’s share some behavioural characteristics with the common hippo as they both prefer to stay in rivers during the day. However, unlike the Common hippopotamus that live in large groups, the Pygmy hippo prefer to be alone or in pairs. Scientist don’t know much about the reproductive conditions for wild pygmy hippos as most breeding is observed in zoos. However, the Pygmy hippo may be monogamous meaning that they may only have one mate for life (Fröhlich et al, 2017). Both hippo species feed on vegetation, although Pygmy hippos feed on fruits and ferns due to them living in forest areas (hippopotamus, 2018).

Baby and mother by Mistvan and hippo eating by unknown

This hippo species is under threat due to loss of their habitat as the forest they need to survive is currently cut down for farm land and urban use. They are also hunted for bush meat by poachers and shot by farmers when looking for food on farms. Pygmy hippos are also affected by Polycystic kidney disease or “PKD”. Polycystic kidney disease is a disease which fluid-filled cystic structures replace normal functional rental tissue that can cause kidney failure and death (Flacke et al, 2017). This condition is a genetic disorder that can be passed to offspring.

Next time, we will be covering a species of megabat that is native to Australia and is at risk of extreme heat exposure.  

References

Blashfield, J. 2014, Hippopotamus.

Flacke, G.L., Tomkins, J.L., Black, R. & Steck, B. 2017, "Demographics of polycystic kidney disease and captive population viability in pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis)", Zoo Biology, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 136-151.

Fröhlich, J., Kubickova, S., Musilova, P., Cernohorska, H., Muskova, H. & Rubes, J. 2017, "A Comparative Study of Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) Karyotype by Cross-Species Chromosome Painting", Journal of Mammalian Evolution, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 465-474.

hippopotamus. (2018). In P. Lagasse & Columbia University, The Columbia encyclopedia. (8th ed.). [Online]. New York: Columbia University Press. Available from: https://elibrary.jcu.edu.au/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/hippopotamus/0?institutionId=429 [Accessed 28 April 2019].

pygmy hippopotamus. (2003). In The MacMillan encyclopedia. (2nd ed.). [Online]. Aylesbury: Market House Books Ltd. Available from: https://elibrary.jcu.edu.au/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/move/pygmy_hippopotamus/0?institutionId=429 [Accessed 28 April 2019].

Picture references

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_hippopotamus