The Pygmy Hippo
Choeropsis liberiensis
by Bailey Runnells
Description and Ecology
The Pygmy Hippopotamus, also known by its scientific name Choeropsis liberiensis, is a smaller version of the common hippopotamus that will steal your heart and make you want to take it home with you (but don't do that, its very illegal). They are rarely seen because they are most active from late afternoon to midnight (IUCN Red List). The Pygmy Hippo is a k-selected animal with a relatively long life span of 35-40 years in captivity, an average gestation period of 188 days, and only giving birth to one calf at a time (IUCN Red List). They also love spending time in the water. It is no surprise then that these cute mini hippos are typically found in forest areas near rivers and small bodies of water.
 |
| http://admin.scirecordbook.org/images/species/PYGMY_HIPPOPOTAMUS.jpg |
Geographic and Population Changes
The exact number of Pygmy Hippos in the wild is unknown because, as mentioned above, they are rarely seen due to their nocturnal tendencies. It has been estimated, however, that there are around 2,000-3,000 of them left in the wild (IUCN Red List). The IUCN also states that the population size is continuing to decline. Pygmy Hippos today can be found in parts of four countries: Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Sadly, the species has become regionally extinct in Nigeria and has a much smaller geographic range than it had in the past (IUCN Red List). Current Pygmy Hippo populations are also severely fragmented.
Type of Listing and Date Listed
 |
| http://www.arkive.org/rimg/species-detail/iucn/threat-categories-EN.gif |
The adorable Pygmy Hippo was unfortunately listed as an endangered animal on the IUCN Red List in 2006, and is still listed as endangered today. It's first listing by the IUCN was in 1986, but at that time was only considered to be vulnerable. If their current decline continues, it could soon be categorized as critically endangered - let's all work to keep the trend from continuing!
Cause of Listing and Main Threats
The decline of Pygmo Hippo populations can be mainly attributed to habitat destruction in the form of mass deforestation over the last fifty years. Forests have been destroyed largely by logging and the conversion of land to rubber, coffee, and palm oil plantations to feed human needs (IUCN Red List). The mining industry has also contributed to deforestation in recent years, again, to feed human needs (surprise, surprise). The poor little Pygmy Hippo's problems are exacerbated by the fact that what little remains of their forest habitat is badly fragmented, further exposing them to the dangers of hunting and very small population size.
Recovery Plan
Don't worry, its not all bad news for the Pygmy Hippo! There are a few efforts being made to conserve and protect these precious animals. The Pygmy Hippo is included on Appendix II of CITES and granted full legal protection in the four countries where it is found. The majority of the remaining population lives in national parks, all of which grant them protection, but create fragmented populations. Conservationists are therefore making sure that these hippos have corridors between the national parks that they live in. Pygmy Hippo conservationists and experts are also working on strategies that are aimed directly at helping these animals survive in all four countries. In 2013, captive breeding was being utilized also in hopes of increasing the population size of little hippos (IUCN Red List).
 |
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k4AAxZAzP1k/maxresdefault.jpgHow You Can HelpIf your heart aches (like mine does) for these bite-size hippos, do something about it! Spread the word that (1) these animals exist, and (2) they won't survive if we ignore them. We all know that money makes the world go round, and this includes conservation efforts, so donate to a charity that is helping out our Pygmy Hippo friends in one of the links below. Another helpful action would be to do your research. Don't support companies that are tearing down the forests that these animals need to survive. |
Other Resources
Find more information and places to donate:
Works Cited
| Ransom, C, Robinson, P.T. & Collen, B. 2015. Choeropsis liberiensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015 :e.T10032A18567171. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20152.RLTS.T10032A18567171.en. Downloaded on 30 November 2016. |
First of all, your intro is flooded with voice, making it extremely captivating and enough to draw the reader in. Throughout the blog, you interact with the readers with the punctuation you use (exclamation points, parenthesis, and dashes), often addressing them directly; I like that! It makes your post feel more like an intriguing and informative webpage and less like a fact-based assignment. You appealed to eloquent word choice (exacerbated, for example) and organized the post fairly well. It is disappointing that the pygmy hippo is regionally extinct in Nigeria, but it is also nice to see that captive breeding has been appealed to for them. My only note is that perhaps you could have gone more in depth about the Recovery Plan and what specifically it entails, but you covered the other bases well.
ReplyDelete-Amanda Simonich
I love your intro this is a very well written blog. This is so sad, something seriously needs to be done about deforestation, seems be causing every other animals extinction. The help section is nicely set up, it's very easy to spot.
ReplyDelete-megan molloy