A Look at the

Pygmy Hippopotamus

Endangered since 2006

 Common Name
Pygmy Hippopotamus

Scientific Name
Choeropsis liberiensis
FUN FACTS...Did you know
that?
• Weighs 352-606 lbs
• Stands only 3 feet tall, but 5 feet long
• Lives up to 40 years old
• Lacks sweat or sebaceous glands
• Herbivore: consumes 88 lbs in 4-5 hr
span
 • Limited to very
Habitat restricted ranges in
West Africa
• Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Republic of Guinea,
and Cote d’Ivoire
• Forests, savannas,
wetlands
 Population Trend
DECLINING!!!
• 1986 appeared on vulnerable
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-SA
species list
• 20 years later ENDANGERED
• Only 2000-2500 mature
individuals left
 Main Threats
• Deforestation, logging, timber
harvesting
• Bushmeat hunters, commercial
hunters
• Human disturbance
 Use and trade
value
‘Pygmy hippos are killed
predominantly for their meat.
Contrary to what some might think,
their teeth have little trade value,
but many of their body parts (like
the skull) are used in rituals or
traditional medicine.’
-The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
 Legally protected in range countries
BUT level of enforcement is limited.
Actions Being
Taken to Preserve Protected areas established. (Tai
National Park and Zone of
the Pygmy Hippo… Protection)

Captive breeding attempts BUT age

Are they structure in those institutions has
proven not very healthy.
working?
 International Conservation efforts

• US Endangered Species Act Protection

Sought for Hippos
• The Pygmy Hippo Foundation
• 1st National Conservation Strategy in Liberia
• National Pygmy Hippo Day—April 8th
 What can you do to help?
Celebrate National Pygmy Hippo Day by spreading awareness
about pygmy hippos and their declining numbers. One of the greatest
issues in protection of our endangered species is that a lot of people
do not know about them and their plight.

Support conservation groups working to protect the habitat of these

animals and others that are at risk of extinction.

Protect, value, and appreciate your local plants and

animal species because remember…
when they disappear, they are gone forever!!
Works Cited
(2022). U.S. Endangered Species Act Protection Sought for Hippos: Investigations Show Thriving Market
for HIppo Parts in United States. Center for Biological Diversity.
https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/us-endangered-species-act-protection-sought-fo
r-hippos-2022-03-24/

Hodgkinson, C., Mallon, D., Vogt, T., & Ransom, C. (2013). First national conservation strategy for the
pygmy hippopotamus in Liberia. Oryx, 47(4), 479-479. doi:10.1017/S0030605313000999

National Pygmy Hippo Day-April 8th. National Today. https://nationaltoday.com/pygmy-hippo-day/

The Pygmy HIppo Foundation. http://www.pygmyhippofoundation.org/

Ransom, C, Robinson, P.T. & Collen, B. 2015. Choeropsis liberiensis. The IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species 2015: e.T10032A18567171.
 https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T10032A18567171.en. 
Accessed on 06 May 2023